JailTalk
by DeepAqua4
Summary: Growing ever increasingly more restless, Loki sits out his imprisonment brooding over the events of the past. Desperate for something to occupy his mind, a glimmer of mischief reignites within him as the cell beside his becomes occupied by a mysterious and seemingly dangerous woman. A story for those who found Jane Foster's character too plain and long to see Loki meet his match.
1. Chapter 1

A year. It had almost been an entire year since he had rained chaos upon that pathetic Midgardian city. A whisper of a smile graced Loki's lips at the memory, creasing the perfect porcelain of his chiselled face ever so slightly. What was it called again? New York? Not that it mattered, or he cared. Nothing seemed to matter anymore since Odin had thrown him into this cell and condemned him to imprisonment for the rest of his life. His smile quickly faded, his face hardening and his expression turning as dark as the raven hair that tumbled to his shoulders.

Born to be a King. Just another lie in the long list that he had been told. He could have ruled over Midgard and gladly left the Asgardian throne in the foolish hands of his brother – well, adopted brother – Thor, only to watch smugly as the oaf plunged Asgard into ruin one way or another. But no, of course his _father_ didn't approve of that either. And so here he was, rotting away while his brother gallantly strutted around swinging that damned hammer and trying to heal the destruction that had ripped across the nine realms since the Bifrost had been destroyed. Something Loki was sure he was blamed for as well.

He paced the usual circuit across his cell. It was a hilariously pathetic replica of his actual room in the palace but it was still infinitely more luxurious than the other cells in the prison. To be fair it wasn't hard; they contained nothing but cold white walls while he had his bed and somewhere to sit and read the books that Frigga sent him. It was still painfully inadequate for a prince of Asgard, although could he still call himself that knowing the truth of the blood that pulsed through his veins? A humourless laugh fell from his mouth with a sharp exhale of breath only for both to choke in his throat as the sound of a struggle, a woman's protests and then a deafening noise pulled him from his brooding.

It sounded almost like an explosion and was accompanied by bone-shattering tremors that rumbled through the prison, shaking dust from the ceiling and causing the metal goblet and pile of books that had been resting on the nearby table to come crashing to the floor. With a growl of irritation, Loki stalked over to the front of his cell, the fallen objects resuming their original places with a lazy twitch of his right hand. Folding his arms behind his back, he gazed through the shimmering golden wall that prevented him from leaving into the dimly lit corridor of the prison. At first he could see very little but then his green eyes settled on what appeared to be the source of the commotion. One of his dark eyebrows arched questionably at the sight.

Five of Asgard's fully armoured men lay unconscious, sprawled on the ground and against the walls, surrounding another body which appeared to lie in the epicentre of the explosion. It looked to be the body of a woman and she lay face down, a wild sea of copper curls spreading all around her head. More shouts sounded, this time the deep, gruff commands of more guards as they thundered down the steps, presumably responding dutifully to the disruption. Not wanting to seem like he was interested – for despite his imprisonment Loki was determined to ensure that anyone who dared to meet his eyes would only see a cold, jaded indifference at anything that occurred beyond his cell – he grabbed a book from the top of the pile on his table. Settling himself on the floor, he stretched his legs out to their full length, crossing one foot over the other as he reclined against the wall, providing a perfect view of the unconscious guards and the curious woman who lay between them. Loki's long, slender fingers flicked through the pages, settling on some random chapter, his eyes flicking nonchalantly between the words written there and the events that were now occurring in the corridor.

Golden armoured men tended to the wounded whilst others lifted the woman from the ground with extreme care and what seemed like reluctance, almost as if she was indeed a bomb that could detonate at any moment. Tentatively, they began to move, a guard carrying each of her limbs so she remained face down still, her hair a fiery mane that smouldered in the spluttering light of the torches that lined the corridor. They placed her in the first empty cell they could find which, Loki realised with a fleeting spark of annoyance that quickly morphed to perverse pleasure, happened to be the one directly next to his. Being in the corner cell, there was only the one cell attached to his and Loki had presumed it had been deliberately kept empty to spare any occupant from his inevitable antics. Even with his magic intact, he couldn't pass through the iridescent golden walls that acted as the cell's bars, otherwise his imprisonment would have been laughably short. But the wall that separated his cell and the one adjacent? He was certain he wouldn't have any problems with _that_.

A smirk spread across Loki's thin lips and a glint of well-known mischief blossomed in his eyes.

Finally he'd found himself some new entertainment. And he was going to damn well enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly, and groggily, Lìa climbed back to consciousness, the relentless pounding behind her eyes making it impossible to stay floating in the peace of the darkness that had surrounded her. Eventually she became aware of the cold stone that pressed against her face and the quiet but definite hum of some energy found her ears. She didn't have to open her eyes to know where she was, nor did she want to. Seeing the walls of what would almost definitely be her coffin did not quite appeal to her somehow.

Everything hurt and she felt so weak, something she was unaccustomed to, what with her being Asgardian. She wasn't some pathetic mortal, not like that Jane Foster.

 _Jane Foster_.

Even the thought of that name set her blood to an immediate simmer. Who could have thought a mere Midgardian, no matter how dainty and clever she seemed to think she was, could be her undoing? She had been so close to making the King's guard; her training was almost complete and many had said she was set to make an even finer warrior than Sif, something which the _lady_ would be most disgruntled to hear she was sure. Good. She was almost as insufferable as Jane Foster, but not quite.

How was she to have known that some impossibly volatile and potent force flowed beneath the mortal's skin and that it was the reason for her presence here in Asgard? Odin could have just finally given in and told Thor to bring her here to put an end to his lovesick moping, something which certainly wasn't befitting of the future King. And so, when Jane had curiously approached the training grounds and she had jokingly suggested that she join in only for Jane to eagerly comply, Lìa hadn't even given it a second thought. After all, she had no idea what Thor's mortal lover looked like and the girl had been dressed in Asgardian clothes. There really was no way she could have known.

They had sparred playfully for while - although it was very clear that Jane had never picked up a sword in her life – and Lìa had soon become bored of only giving her a taste of her talents with a blade. With a well placed parry to distract her, Lìa had kicked Jane's legs from underneath her and just before she hit the ground, Thor's voice had come booming across the training grounds.

"Stop! Don't harm her you'll-"

But before he could finish, Jane's back had collided with the ground as Lìa's sword found the skin of her neck and the whole world turned red. The last thing Lìa remembered was being flung backwards by an almighty force as if she was a mere leaf, before she struck her head and the conscious world slipped from her grasp. Instead she found herself suspended in a dark chasm, her vision tinted with the same sinister red as an ethereal substance began to penetrate her body, seeping its way into every atom and every corner of her being. The pain was excruciating, beyond anything she could have fathomed possible. Each time she thought it could get no worse it would peak again and it seemed to leech the strength from her, as if it was a sentient thing, feeding off her very life-force to keep itself alive.

But, mercifully, the pain eventually began to fade and the next thing she knew she was lying on one of the beds in the healing chambers, surrounded by frantic looking healers as they fiddled with the glittering projection of her body that swirled above her. The delicate gold of the projection was marred however; a foreboding dark red, almost black substance seemed to pulsate through the veins, consuming every last one it could find.

Her veins.

Lìa suddenly felt panic grip her tightly and her projected heart began to beat wildly as her own flew into a frenzy. "What in Hel's name is that?" she cried, trying to sit herself up. One of the healers went to restrain her but Odin's authoritative voice rumbled through the room, fixing everyone in place.

"Stay where you are, girl."

Lìa looked to Odin incredulously, all the usual nervousness that she normally would feel being directly under the AllFather's piercing glare suddenly dissipating given the gravity of the current situation.

"What's happening to me?" she asked in a smaller voice, fear now beginning to take root underneath her panic.

Thor stepped forward, the kindness that was usually in his bright blue eyes strikingly absent. "I brought Jane here because she appeared to have taken ill, something that certainly wasn't of Earth. She travelled somewhere strange, somewhere even Heimdall couldn't see her and she found the...Aether."

Lìa's breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened. "The Aether? But the stories say it was destroyed..."

"Evidently not," Odin cut in, his eye fixed on the putrid darkness that flowed through Lia's projected veins.

Thor suddenly looked conflicted, like remorse and relief were battling within him. "I shouldn't have let Jane wander around on her own, not in her condition. I would have thought that she would have at least avoided conflict, knowing how the Aether reacts when it feels threatened."

How the Aether _reacts_? When _it_ feels threatened? Icy panic began to take hold of Lìa again but heat flared angrily within her, almost as if it was mocking her distress. Forcing herself to ignore the resultant nausea that washed over her, Lìa looked back to Thor and Odin, searching desperately for even a grain of sympathy in their stern expressions.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply sorry. I had no idea who she was, or of the affliction that she possessed. She looked intrigued and I simply offered to show her the basics of using a blade. I never intended to harm her..."

"The details matter not," Odin interrupted almost impatiently. "The mortal is now cured and shall return to Midgard as soon as possible."

Horror flew across Thor's bearded face. "But father..."

"Enough." Odin silenced Thor's protests with the single word and the incredible power of his one-eyed gaze. "I have told you many times before, you have to turn your focus and your heart to Asgard, where your priorities and responsibilities lie. You should be pleased. This woman," he gestured to Lìa who was looking anxiously between the two of them, "has saved the mortal from a force that would only have sucked all life from her weak form. Clearly it sought a stronger host than the one it currently inhabited."

Thor didn't look pleased. He shot an accusatory glare at Lìa who only felt its heat for a second before Odin's next words threw all else from her mind.

"Saying that, despite the comparative resilience of Asgardian blood, I suspect the same fate will fall upon her eventually."

That did it. Lìa shot up, dissolving the golden projection of her body as she did. "Please, your Majesty," Lìa begged, despising how desperate she sounded, "how do I make the Aether leave my body?"

Odin's face betrayed no emotion as he replied. "I know not. And until we learn how to extract and contain such power, you will be kept locked away so no harm can come to anyone else."

Lìa did not manage to remain so calm. She threw herself from the bed, only for her legs to give way and the strong hands of two golden armoured guards to catch her and subsequently restrain her as she cried in outrage to the King. "And what of me? Am I to just sit there as it leeches the very _life_ from me?"

Thor suddenly looked nervously to his father, expecting fury from this girl's audacious outburst but if he was angry he did not show it.

"Yes. That is exactly what you will do. You want to serve Asgard do you not? To protect the realm and its people from danger and harm? Well this is how you are to do it."

A frown had passed over Thor's face and for a moment Lìa thought his interjection was out of concern for her. Of course not.

"Father, what of Loki? I fear for both his safety and state of mind if he were to learn such power resided so close to him."

Odin's eye narrowed at the sound of Loki's name. "That is why she will be kept in the furthest cell from his. There is to be no word uttered of this anywhere near the prisons, or at all, unless I condone it." With that, he swept from the room and Lìa was dragged into the bowels of the palace where she knew she most certainly would not resurface from. Her anger and fear had built and built until it felt like it needed to erupt from her and then...it did, plunging her back into unconsciousness.

As Lìa snapped out of her memories, she found her closed eyes to be stinging with tears and despite her efforts, a single sob wracked her chest and burst from her lips as two tears managed to escape and roll down her cheeks.

"My, _my_ , I didn't expect someone who just floored five of Asgard's finest men to sit here and whimper in self pity."

Lìa's eyes flew open as the sound of a voice filled her cell. She knew that voice. It was deep and smooth like velvet but it was also mocking, laced with what could only be described as mischief.

With a rush of horror, Lìa realised exactly just who occupied the cell beside her, despite Odin's orders.

 _Loki_.


	3. Chapter 3

Lìa felt sweat bead on the skin of her forehead despite the chill in the air. Odin had specifically told the guards to keep her as far away from Loki as possible and yet here she was with nothing but a stone wall separating them. If anyone else inhabited the cell beside her it would have been perfectly sufficient to keep them apart but clearly with the renowned abilities of her neighbour, it was going to be utterly useless. Refusing to show even an ounce of unease, Lìa hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks and she sat herself up as she glared into the darkness.

"I didn't realise Asgard greeted its new prisoners with a royal welcome. As humbled as I am to be graced with your presence, I couldn't care less for the company right now." She spat the words, lacing them with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

The intense silence that followed started to strip away her defiance and Lìa began to wonder if he would respond at all, or indeed if she had just imagined the voice in the first place, until a sigh of amusement sounded in the gloom.

"Now that is a shame, not that I'm surprised. Not many tend to enjoy my company and those that do soon find they bitterly regret the sentiment."

His voice was like silk and although she loathed to admit it, something about its lethal beauty was immensely captivating. No wonder he was called Silvertongue. Lìa suddenly shivered involuntarily as she realised the most likely reason for the prince's visit. Loki, the god of mischief no less, had been trapped in his tiny cell for a considerable length of time now, the confinement and solitude probably only adding to the chaos raging in his frighteningly intelligent mind that had caused him to attempt to lay waste to Midgard.

He was going to toy with her, torment her until his need to express his anger, or perhaps to find some form of sadistic entertainment, was sated, not that it seemed like that was possible. From what she had heard and seen he didn't appear to be capable of satisfaction. It just wasn't in his nature.

All the fear and anger that had been threatening to consume Lìa suddenly ignited within her. If Loki wanted to break her he could damn well try. She was dying to see what he could come up with and in return she would retaliate with everything she had. She knew it was a dangerous game to play for Loki truly had nothing left to lose.

But then again, neither did she. Odin had said that she would stay down here until they could find a way to contain the Aether and Lìa was pretty sure they wouldn't hurry until it had nearly drained every last drop of life from her body. What would be the point? For now it was indeed contained, locked away out of sight so the rest of Asgard could go about their business while she sat and rotted in the dark. Out of sight, out of mind.

Loki might think that he could use her for his own gain but he was going to realise that he was spectacularly wrong. She would fight fire with fire and hopefully the resultant chaos would be enough to catch the AllFather's attention and make him see that she was not just going to sit around and wait for death. A smile spread across her face at the thought and her lips parted as she began to mock the voice in the darkness once more.

* * *

Loki stared in a mixture of amusement and intrigue at the female prisoner before him, dressed in what appeared to be something befitting of one of Asgard's warriors, although it was ripped and torn as if she had been handled or restrained forcefully. She certainly was striking, what with the mass of seemingly untameable copper curls that spilled down her back and curious grey eyes that looked almost luminescent in the gloom of the night. There wasn't just fire in her hair but in her spirit too. Despite the fact that Loki's intrusion should have at the very least unnerved her, especially since she couldn't see him, she hadn't seemed one bit bothered. Even better, she was mocking _him_. His grin stretched even wider as she continued her retaliation.

"Could that be because everywhere you go mass destruction and genocide tend to follow?"

Loki chuckled under his breath. He had not failed to catch the smug glint that had appeared in her eyes. This was going to be more fun than he thought.

"You do flatter me," he replied, his voice dark and dangerous. "Since you clearly seem to know the reasons for my imprisonment, would you care to indulge me as to why you are down here? Theft? Adultery? Or public indecency, perhaps?"

She looked confused for a second before her eyes dropped to the large tears in her turquoise and gold tunic and she quickly wrapped her arms around herself, scowling in the direction of Loki's voice.

"Sorry to disappoint, but no. Perhaps it's best if you don't know. I wouldn't want to be the cause of a prince of Asgard being unable to sleep at night."

Loki really couldn't help but laugh this time. "Well whatever it is, it must be truly _horrifying_ for the guards to be so heavy handed with you, judging by the state of your clothes, and for them to think you could survive being placed next to me."

Despite her success at remaining aloof, Loki did notice her shudder ever so slightly only for her glare to return immediately, far colder than before. Her resilience was simply _glorious_.

"And what danger could you possibly cause to me, your Majesty? I am sure that right now I am only talking to an illusion and you are probably lay on your bed grinning to yourself, or whatever you do to while away the time."

The grin that was indeed on Loki's face disappeared instantly and he caught the small, metal goblet he had been throwing in the air, keeping it suspended above him from his reclined position on his bed. The projected version of Loki in Lìa's cell also stopped smiling, not that she could see it since he had ensured it was invisible.

How in the name of Valhalla could she have sussed him so perfectly and effortlessly?

There were many things that he prided himself on, one of the most highly revered being his utter lack of transparency. 'Master of lies' he had heard people call him and whilst it was entertaining, it was also immensely useful. He could be saying something with complete honesty and still no one would believe him, never knowing his true intentions or where his loyalties lay, other than with himself of course.

But this woman had spent no more than a few minutes with him and she had already deduced more than his own brother had in all the years they had spent together. It never failed to amuse him how Thor continued to fall for the same trick; did he forget that he could form several perfect copies of himself or was he really just stupid?

Loki snapped his attention back to the prisoner, irritation flaring under his skin at the smugness that had returned to her silver eyes. "Never underestimate the danger of an illusion, my dear," he said calmly, just the hint of a threat lurking under the otherwise innocence of his advice. "Tell me, how did you know it was I? Since you haven't yet set eyes on me I can only guess that you knew by my voice. What was it that gave it away? My intelligence? My charm?"

"Neither, your Majesty. It's your arrogance."

Loki stared at her in shock, not knowing whether to be impressed or furious at her audacity. She was brave, he would give her that. Foolish, but brave.

"You think _I_ am arrogant, despite having surely seen my brother strutting around, acting as if he is already King?"

"Yes, but the point is he will be King."

That was the final straw. Loki tightened his grip on the goblet he still held until his knuckles turned white, the joints screaming for release. This woman clearly had absolutely no regard for her own life. It was if she _wanted_ to rile him, knowing full well the consequences that would ensue. Perhaps this was some cruel punishment from Odin in an attempt to teach him a lesson, not that it had any hope of working. If this woman wanted to see the truly ineffable horrors that he was capable of, he would only happily comply.

"Indeed he will," Loki replied with a sigh, "while we sit here for the rest of our painfully long lives hoping that our minds rot faster than our bodies do just to free us from this Hel a little quicker." He chuckled darkly. "But I digress. You must be tired after today's ordeal and it would be dreadfully rude for me to keep you up. I'm sure we'll speak again. Sleep tight, Lìa."

* * *

Lìa had been rather enjoying herself as adrenaline coursed through her, finding it wonderfully easy and exhilarating to tease Loki. His final words however turned her blood to ice.

 _Sleep tight, Lìa._

It was a threat, she was certain, but that wasn't even what disturbed her the most.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded.

Nothing but the silence of her dark cell answered her.


	4. Chapter 4

Even without Loki's soothing parting words, Lìa knew she would not have slept well that night. She settled herself in the right hand corner of the cell, making sure she was directly facing the wall that was joining her to the bored and questionably sane prince on the other side. The floor was hard, the stone cold against her back and her seated, cross-legged position soon caused her legs to ache and her feet to tingle as they called out for the blood that was denied to them.

Lìa tried to focus on the discomfort, hoping it would stop her drifting off. She knew she had angered Loki; although his replies had all been smooth and collected, the just slightly too long length of some of his pauses betrayed that she had hit a nerve. Possibly several. It seemed inevitable that she would be subjected to some of his tricks tonight, but then again, maybe she wouldn't, the agonising torture of the anticipation probably proving just as effective. Either way, she was sure he would be watching her.

As hard as she tried, however, her eyes soon became heavy and weariness washed over her. In truth, she was exhausted. Her day had started like any other for a warrior in training and yet now she found herself imprisoned with some universe-destroying power festering beneath her skin, sapping her strength like a parasite. It seemed to thrive off all the stress and anger she had experienced that day for already it seemed stronger, the heat that surged in her blood noticeably more prominent, especially when she had been in the height of such emotions. It seemed obvious that would be the case; Lìa doubted something so monstrous would relish in sweet feelings such as love or compassion.

And so reluctantly she fell into a heavy sleep and soon found herself not in her cell, but in the warm, comforting embrace of a large bed. It was so _soft_ , with plush pillows and smooth silk sheets that felt positively glorious against her bare skin. Part of her was tempted to open her eyes to see where she was, for this certainly wasn't like any bed she had ever known, but she was so relaxed that her curiosity soon gave way to the pure bliss that surrounded her.

That was, until something icy and wet started to lick at her skin, slowly seeping up her body as if she was somehow sinking. Her eyes flew open in shock and panic gripped her forcefully. The dimly lit room she found herself in must have been filling with water for some time, as the level had reached over the raised bed and now almost completely covered her legs. Lìa shot upwards, terror tightening in her chest. The water did not seem to be showing any signs of slowing or stopping as it continued its relentless consumption of the room.

She threw herself from the bed, gasping as the iciness of the water knocked the breath from her lungs. Forcing herself to regain her senses, she waded over to the single window in the otherwise bare room. It was grimy, letting in only grey light and impossible to see through. With a jolt of horror, Lìa realised there was no way to open it either. The water had reached the top of her waist now and it was bitterly cold, making it increasingly more difficult to think clearly.

She tried to gather her thoughts. There was no door; the window was her only way out. She needed to find something to break through it. But as she glanced desperately around the room, she realised with crippling despair that the only object in the room beside herself was the bed. What good were silk sheets and feather stuffed pillows for breaking through glass?

A sickening realisation suddenly shredded through her as she looked at the colour of the sheets properly for the first time.

Emerald green, with delicate gold seams.

Loki's colours.

Could this be his doing? Lìa could only ponder the prospect for a second as she soon felt the water's sinister, icy touch upon the skin of her neck and in her desperation she threw herself at the window, pounding the glass with her fists with all her might. A cry of frustration burst from her lips as it quickly became apparent that her efforts weren't even leaving so much as a mark on her only means of escape.

She stared at it in utter despondence and she began treading water as it lapped mockingly against her face. So that was it then. She couldn't escape and since the ceiling of the room was low, it wouldn't be long until it, and she, were entirely submerged. Kicking with all her might, she fought to stay afloat, managing to do so until her neck was crushed against the ceiling. She tried to suck in what would be her last breath, only for her lungs to fill with water. Coughing violently, she gasped involuntarily but that just forced more water down into her already burning chest. She kicked and struggled, delirious panic raging within her as she sank deeper and deeper into the depths...

Lìa woke with a jolt, deep, panicked breaths shuddering through her as she gasped for air. She sank back against the wall in giddy relief as she took in the sight of her cell, lit only by the gentle, golden light of the swirling, iridescent wall facing out into the corridor of the prison. The soft hum of power it emitted was like music to her ears and she focused solely on it for a few minutes, trying to slow the frantic pounding of her heart. She needed to calm down; she was trembling and feverish and she refused to feed the Aether more than the chaos of the dream already had.

That's all it had been. A dream.

It had been the most vivid dream she had possibly ever experienced but that didn't detract from the fact that it was still a dream. She was safe. Well, she wasn't drowning at least. And Loki's very subtle presence must have just been because he was the last person she had spoken to before drifting off. She knew he was powerful, but to be able to invade and influence someone's dreams? That seemed a little much.

Running her fingers through the curls of her hair, she swept them back off her face, closing her eyes in relief as her racing heart finally began to comply. However the peace that followed did not last very long at all.

Something dark caught her eye in the far corner of her cell and she narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out what it was. It was moving, almost sliding towards her. Lìa's breath hitched in her throat as the shadowed form moved into the soft light cast by the golden wall, illuminating it just enough so she could see what it was.

A snake was slithering slowly on the ground, its green, undulating scales almost black in the dim light, although it was impossible to miss the flashes of gold that framed each individual scale. Lìa stared at in a mixture of disbelief and abject horror.

How could a _snake_ possibly be in here? She wasn't dreaming anymore, she was certain. Her skin crawled just staring at it; she had been utterly terrified of them ever since she was a child.

And then Loki's words echoed through her mind in the same mocking tone that he had used earlier in the night, almost as if he knew she would indeed replay them later and feel the gravity of them as she did now.

 _Never underestimate the danger of an illusion, my dear_.

Sense tried to reason with her. Yes, there was a sickeningly sinister looking snake sliding its way towards her but it could only be nothing more than an illusion. And illusions couldn't hurt her, could they?

All sense immediately fled from her as the snake opened its mouth and hissed, golden light glinting off its large, death tipped fangs. They certainly didn't look like an illusion. She didn't dare blink as she stared at the serpent and icy unease dripped down her spine as its black eyes locked onto hers. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

Out of the black chasm of its mouth came _another_ snake, just as utterly horrifying as the first. A gasp of terror escaped from her lips and Lìa clamped her hand down hard on her mouth, desperate not to draw any attention to herself. The snakes seemed indifferent, however, as they both opened their mouths and two more snakes emerged. Lìa lost count of the amount of times this happened and soon the floor of her cell was a writhing mass of green scales. She had been paralysed in fear but it suddenly melted away as the eyes of every snake suddenly snapped to her, all malevolent and ravenous.

Shaking her head frantically, Lìa pressed herself back against the wall only for a scream to rip from her throat as her skin touched the slimy surface of yet more snakes. Twisting round in shock, she recoiled as she saw the walls were suddenly crawling with them. They even dripped from the ceiling, only adding to the already chaotic sea that very much seemed like it could drown her if it continued to grow.

"No, no, no..." she sobbed, shaking so violently now she could barely breathe.

She could _feel_ them, sliding over her skin, tasting the terror in the sheen of sweat that now coated her skin with their flickering tongues.

One snake slid over her leg and then began an agonisingly slow ascent up her body. Lìa thought her pounding heart would give in as it glided over her heaving chest and raised its head so it was staring her straight in the eyes. Its fanged mouth twisted into the most unnatural, sinister smile before it launched itself viciously at her face. Lìa didn't get chance to hear the blood-curdling shriek that erupted from her as her mind finally granted her mercy and pulled her consciousness from her just enough so the world went black. She collapsed onto the ground, only aware of the cold stone against her face and the sobs that shuddered through her body which eventually slipped from her grasp too.

* * *

Loki was lay on his bed and placed both hands behind his head as he sighed in contentment. He had been cruel, possibly too cruel, but that had been what she wanted, was it not? He certainly had enjoyed himself and he was glad he remembered to hide any noise that sounded from within her cell from everyone but him. Her screams had been sensational but would have unquestionably caught the attention of the guards posted just outside the prison doors and they would only have come and ruined his fun.

Closing his eyes, he cast his hearing out once more into her cell and a smirk spread across his lips as he heard the quiet but definite sound of Lìa whimpering. It was like music to his ears and with the aid of his sadistic lullaby, he finally fell to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Loki sighed deeply as he watched Frigga's projection fade from sight at his touch and he grimaced as remorse washed over him. It was an emotion he was not used to feeling and he truly despised it, especially when Frigga was the cause, which she so often was.

She was the only person in this damned place who seemed to actually care for him. Thor tried but his sentiment was usually useless and besides, it wasn't like he had bothered to come and see Loki while he had been caged down here. At least Frigga paid him regular visits, probably risking Odin's wrath by going against his orders.

And how had he repaid her? By yelling at her and telling her that despite everything she had done for him, she was not his mother. He wasn't wrong; Odin's little secret had made that quite clear. But she truly loved him as her own son, the evidence of which had been obvious in the hurt and disappointment on her face at Loki's harsh words. His stomach tightened again at the thought and he clenched his fists, forcing the image from his mind.

His day had begun so promisingly as well. He had woken in an excellent mood, spurred on by his success the previous night. Lìa had reacted even more spectacularly than he could have hoped for, even down to the tiny details he had added to try and merely unnerve her. She had looked truly disturbed when he had revealed he knew her name and that hadn't even required any thought or use of his magic. He had simply overheard one of the guards saying it when they had been carrying her to the empty cell and he had presumed it was hers. Of course, judging by the look on her face, he had been correct.

The conversation with Frigga hadn't been a complete disaster, however. She had reacted most peculiarly when he had mentioned Lìa, only adding to his intrigue for this curious woman.

"Mother, what do you know of the woman in the cell beside mine?" he had asked when a suitable lull in their conversation had been reached.

Frigga had looked confused. "There should be no one in that cell. It is purposefully being kept empty to spare you the disruption from any of the other prisoners down here."

Loki had felt his lip begin to curl in irritation at his mother's blatant lie. He was sure Odin wouldn't give such an order to _spare him any disruption_. Throwing a questioning glare at Frigga, he had begun to pace before her.

"Well that is curious, because a woman with the most striking red hair was placed in that very cell late last night. I could hear her sobbing well into the early hours." Loki had smirked to himself as he reached the edge of his cell, quickly resuming his usual mask of cool indifference as he turned back to Frigga, his emerald eyes watching her intently for a whisper of deceit.

Frigga hadn't hesitated in her response. "I do not tend to know the identities of Asgard's prisoners, Loki. If she is bothering you, I can see that she is moved elsewhere."

Loki had just been about to let bitter disappointment crash upon him when his keen eyes caught something. Frigga had shifted in what appeared to be unease as she swallowed hard before smiling at him.

There. That was it.

Loki had returned her smile, although his was rather more hostile. "You are one of the few people who can lie to me mother, and on this occasion you have failed. I can see that you know of this woman. Tell me why she is down here."

With a deep sigh, Frigga had looked to Loki in quiet exasperation, the hint of unease now quite visible in her gaze. "You focus your interests on the strangest things, Loki. If you must know, she is unwell."

Loki had scoffed loudly. "Unwell? Asgardians do not get unwell, mother. And besides, what could possibly be ailing her that, instead of being treated in the healing chambers, she is thrown down here?"

Frigga had abandoned trying to contain her frustration now and she threw a scolding look at Loki which reminded him of the looks he used to receive as a boy when his mischief had got out of hand. "We do not know. But it could be dangerous and so she was to be kept down here until we could figure out what. She was supposed to be kept from the cell beside you for your own protection, Loki."

Loki's eyes had narrowed as he felt his frayed temper rising. "Was it Thor that voiced that concern? Or perhaps Odin? Somehow I think he might have ordered for her to be kept from that cell not for my protection but her own, from the deranged _Jotun_ that resides next to it who has brought nothing but shame upon his family!"

"Loki..." Frigga had begun to plead but his temper had already snapped.

The altercation that had followed had ultimately led him to be stood as he was now, staring at the empty space where Frigga had been. Taking a deep breath, Loki stood a little straighter, regaining his composure. He needed to take his mind off what had just occurred and luckily for him, he knew of the perfect distraction.

* * *

Lìa knew it was only a matter of time before Loki visited her again. He would want to gloat, his insatiable narcissism in need of indulgence. He hadn't just scared her last night, he had absolutely terrified her and Lìa knew that was just a taste of what he was capable of. But, saying all of that, she was pleased. He had played right into her hands. Riling him was almost laughably easy; despite all his incredible talents he seemed to have very little control of his temper. She was convinced that with a little time and patience she could push him well and truly over the edge and the chaos that would ensue would subtly remind Odin of her existence in case he had chosen to forget it.

And so when Loki did materialise before her, she wasn't in the least bit surprised. His appearance did shock her though. It must have been over two years now since she had last seen him and the man stood before her was very different from the immaculate, aloof prince that she remembered. His once short, black hair now tumbled to his shoulders and although it was smoothened behind his ears, the rest fell in soft waves onto the brown leather of his long waistcoat. That sat over a simple, long-sleeved green shirt which wrapped around his lean frame. His casual attire, however, did not detract from the intimidating, almost predatory air about him. The brilliant, clinical light that now filled the cell cast dark shadows under his glorious, sculpted cheekbones and there was something feral in the vibrant emerald of his eyes which were fixed directly on Lìa.

She couldn't help but shiver slightly under the heat of his gaze. He was quite simply _beautiful_. Dangerously so.

Slowly getting to her feet, Lìa pressed herself against the wall she had been leaning on and tried to make it look like she was cowering away from him, her eyes wide and nervous.

Time to see if the trickster could be tricked.

The smug smirk that spread across Loki's lips was a very good start indeed. He folded his arms behind his back and continued to stare at her, blinking very little.

"I was going to leave you alone for a few days while you settled in, but then I felt it would be rather uncompassionate to do so after hearing all the screaming coming from your cell last night. Did you not sleep well?"

Lìa laughed inwardly; the last thing she had expected from him was compassion, even if it was quite obviously fake.

"Don't bother being coy with me," she snapped, making sure her voice and breathing were just little higher than normal. "You know exactly what I experienced last night and more to the point, you wanted me to know you were behind it."

Loki spread his arms wide, a look of playful innocence passing over his face. "But I presumed that's what you wanted. You must have been aware of the consequences your words would have. They were so...well crafted and placed. It was almost like you knew they would provoke a reaction from me."

Lìa shrugged her shoulders dejectedly, her expression grim. "What can I say? The reality of my life's sentence must have hit me. People do the strangest things in the midst of desperation, do they not?"

One of Loki's dark eyebrows arched at her response. "That they do. But you see, there is another point to my visit today. I am still left wondering as to the reason for your imprisonment which you avoided informing me of last night. When I questioned my mother about it this morning she simply told me you were ill. But I find that a most odd reason to lock someone away."

"Oh, and you've come here out of concern? As a balm for the wounds you inflicted upon me last night?" Lìa retorted, her heart quickening slightly as he began advancing on her, one hand outstretched.

"Not concern my dear, _curiosity_. I will freely admit you captured my interest with your brazen defiance but that was nothing compared to the intense _need_ I now feel to know what ails you, borne out of what I found when I was dabbling in your consciousness last night." His eyes were fevered, very little space between them now as he continued to close in on her. "Another presence, one that most certainly shouldn't be there. What's more, it appeared to be sentient, no less." He offered his hand. "Give me your hand, Lìa. Since the rest of Asgard claims not to know what is within you then maybe I can help."

Lìa had to crane her neck upwards now to look at Loki as he towered over her. She couldn't believe it. She had spent the last few hours wracking her brain for a way to entice Loki to touch her skin in order for him to experience the Aether's wrath and yet here he was, forcing himself upon her.

Tentatively, she offered him her hand and he took it, his cool, slender fingers gentle. Lìa looked up at him, suddenly extremely aware of the proximity of their bodies. Loki had his head slightly bent and a few strands of his raven hair had fallen out from behind his ear. They brushed against the skin of her face, enveloping Lìa in his scent. It was nothing short of incredible, almost _intoxicating_.

She tried to shove the thought from her mind but then Loki's eyes flicked to hers, his lips parting ever so slightly. The fierce curiosity in his gaze melted, giving way to what looked like...desire. A few heartbeats passed, the silence intensifying.

And then Loki silently let go of Lìa's hand, only for him to delicately brush a few loose copper curls behind her ear, his hand cupping her cheek as his fingers curled around the nape of her neck.

He dipped his head lower and suddenly his cool lips found hers. The kiss was soft and tender and even as it finished, his lips lingered on hers, his uneven breath warm against her skin. An ardent longing suddenly ignited within Lìa and, abandoning all caution, she threw herself at Loki, her fingers sinking deep into his hair. Loki responded with equal fervour and he crushed his lips against hers, his other hand finding the base of her back and pulling her even closer to him.

Heat surged through Lìa; his lips were relentless and soon she found herself unable to think, every sense consumed entirely by him. Both of his large hands rested on her cheeks now as he pressed her back against the wall and the fire within her flared in response. But she suddenly became aware of a very different but similarly potent heat, not from her passion but from the power that lurked in her blood. It felt almost like something was tugging at it...

Lìa immediately snapped back to her senses. How could she have been so stupid? The bastard had only seduced her to leave her suitably vulnerable so he could try and extract the Aether, not that he had any clue of the extent of what he was meddling with.

Well if he wanted the Aether he could damn well have it.

The combined ferocity of her passion and anger was unfathomably volatile and the Aether only eagerly complied as she willed it into action. Power erupted from her, blasting Loki backwards and he crashed into the far wall, crumpling to the ground. Quickly he raised his head, staring at Lìa in utter shock as he gasped for breath.

The rumble of many footsteps suddenly sounded, growing louder as they entered the prison. Loki scowled in their direction, throwing one last intense glare at Lìa before vanishing from her cell. Just as he did, the entire corridor outside of Lìa's cell filled with heavily armed guards and her eyes narrowed. She slowly walked up to greet them, her whole body quivering with the extreme strength of the power still raging within her. She clenched both of her fists, her skin feeling like it could combust at any moment.

Unless they were here to release her, they were going to sorely regret bothering her. She almost hoped they weren't; the Aether's rage was far from over.


	6. Chapter 6

"By the order of the King we are here to move to you a different cell. If you come quietly we won't have to resort to using force." The front most guard gave the order and Lìa couldn't help but smirk at the quiver of apprehension in his voice, his hand gripped just a little too tightly on his golden spear.

"Is that so?" she replied flatly, casting a bored gaze over the mass of guards before her. "And what force would that be? I'm sure you're all quite aware of what will happen if any of you even so much as think about touching me."

If her words unnerved the guard he did not show it, his tone retaining its disciplined calm as he gave the orders again. "I will tell you once more, you are to come with us..."

"I understood you perfectly the first time," Lìa interrupted sharply, adrenaline and the Aether's anger forming a heady cocktail in her veins, tinting her vision slightly red. "But you see, herein lies our little problem. Thor's heroic cleansing of the nine realms has left Asgard's prisons rather full and judging by the level of noise down here, there isn't an empty cell for quite some considerable distance. How far do you seriously think you could get me before you all found yourselves suddenly waking painfully in the healing chambers, the last few hours a mystery?" Lìa began to pace before them, her fevered mood rendering her unable to keep still. "Now, you might argue that you could just relocate the prisoners from, say, the cell opposite, but something tells me they wouldn't come quietly either."

Lìa cast her gaze over to the cell in question, sequentially catching the eyes of each of its unkempt and brutish looking inhabitants. Some of them were smirking at her while others grinned malevolently at the few foolish guards who had twisted round to look behind them. Perhaps the largest and most thuggish looking of them all just dipped his head, the simple act echoing the reverence that smouldered in all of the prisoners' eyes.

Good. At least they had the sense to respect her.

She turned her attention back to the guard closest to her, a little thrill of delight bursting through her at the sheen of unease that had formed under his armoured brow. "Now to avoid a dreadful waste of everyone's time and inevitably some lives, I suggest you run along and fetch Odin for me."

The guard looked outraged. "You cannot just summon the King at will..."

Every head turned to the prison's entrance as Odin's voice rumbled through the tense air. "She cannot. But I expected her to resist, hence why I am here." The sea of guards parted instantly, bowing their heads hastily as Odin walked between them, coming to stand in front of Lìa. "Do not confuse my presence here as permission to negotiate. You will move, now."

The fire in Odin's glare was nothing compared to the blaze that continued to course through her blood. She arched an eyebrow derisively. "And if I do not?"

"Then the moment the Aether is freed from your body you will be for the axe."

Lìa couldn't help but laugh. "You really think you can threaten me with that? I have a death sentence regardless. At least that would spare me the long, agonising death that currently awaits me."

Odin didn't move a muscle, he didn't even blink. "Tell me, why is it that you are so adamant to stay in this cell that you are prepared to commit treason to do so?"

Gazing around her cell, Lìa shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure what it is but I've quickly grown fond of this little cell, it's so _cosy_. And besides, I rather enjoy the company that comes with it."

The heavy lines in Odin's face deepened even further as his eye flicked to Loki's cell and lingered there for a second, presumably catching the gaze of Loki himself who would no doubt be spectating eagerly. He turned back to address Lìa. "You are fully aware of the reasons why you were to be kept from this cell and yet you still resist..."

"It's not my fault your guards disobeyed your direct orders," Lìa retorted fiercely.

It was then that Odin lost his temper. "Only because you rendered the men who did hear my orders unconscious and those that didn't acted to neutralise the threat as quickly as possible, as they have been trained to do!" Odin spat, enunciating every word ferociously.

"Well the reasons are irrelevant anyway as the danger you sought to avoid with such an order is now no longer an issue."

"What do you mean, girl?" Odin demanded.

A smug smile spread across Lìa's full lips. "Loki has already tried and failed to take the Aether from me and since with each passing hour it only appears to be getting stronger, I seriously doubt he will succeed at all."

Lìa could almost see the fury darken in Odin's eye as she mentioned the Aether, saying it loud enough to ensure Loki heard her.

"And you think it wise to antagonise him?" he growled. "His obsession with power, such as what runs through your veins, is the very reason he is down here in the first place!"

Lìa took at step forward so she was right against the swirling golden wall, forcing Odin to look upwards to meet her eyes. "Are you sure? Is the reason not because he has tried his entire life to prove to you that he is just as worthy of the throne as Thor is but to never quite escape from the shadow of his brother's glory, only to find out that his parents lied to him about the truth of his birth, cruelly concealing the fact that, despite his efforts, he never even had a hope of gaining the crown from the start."

Odin's rage spiked and reached a whole new level, casting an unsettling calm over him. "Not even some of my worst enemies have spoken to me as brazenly as you have dared to. If you wish to remain in this cell, so be it. I will have the efforts to find a way to contain the Aether doubled, purely so I can wipe your life from existence all the quicker."

Bowing her head, Lìa smiled sweetly. "It's been a pleasure negotiating with you, your Majesty."

Odin's seething glare rested on her for just a few seconds more before he turned away from her silently, stalking from sight, the guards soon following until the corridor was empty once more.

Fierce elation surged through Lìa at her success; standing up to Loki had been thrilling, but to the AllFather himself? That was something else entirely. However, as the last of her adrenaline-fuelled energy began to fade, a very intense exhaustion smacked into her. She staggered, groping for the wall as black spots appeared in her vision but her fingers only managed to brush its cool stone before she was dragged down into unconsciousness once more.

* * *

Loki stood staring vacantly at a wall of his cell, his mind a turbulent chaos of thoughts. Where did he even begin to try and comprehend what he had just witnessed?

 _The Aether_.

That was the potent, sentient power beneath Lìa's skin. He didn't know how it was possible; he was under the impression, as was everyone, that it had been lost when Odin's father, Bor, had laid waste to the army of Dark Elves that had threatened to use the Aether's incredible power to return the nine realms to eternal night. And yet the energy he had felt within Lìa had been undeniable, especially when it had thrown him into the air as if he had been no more than a speck of dust.

The possibilities possessing such power permitted were...well, endless.

And yet, as Lìa had most eloquently put, it seemed he had very little chance of being able to extract it from her. Normally, petulant frustration would consume him and he would sit and scheme for however long it took until he could fathom how to achieve getting his own way. But this woman, this _infuriating_ woman, not only denied him the perfect way to end his imprisonment but had melted all his frustration and turned it into intense, unadulterated awe.

She had mocked him quite successfully the other night but the way she had stood up to Odin? Her words made even his best retorts directed at the AllFather seem like softly spoken words of affection.

And what was more, she had defended him. She must have been the only person in all the nine realms to think that his actions weren't borne out of pathetic jealousy of his brother or uncontrollable megalomania, but a reaction to the simple fact that his entire life had just been one cruel lie.

He knew he had to see her and force her to answer his questions, despite the fact that she would probably despise the sight of him after his last trick. It had begun flawlessly, of course; seduction was one of his more refined talents, not that he'd had reason to use it for a long while. She had been rendered entirely useless under his gaze, his touch and then she had almost ruined everything when she had abandoned herself to the kiss, igniting a desire that he had almost thought lost to him, extinguished by all the bitter hated that had consumed him for so long now.

The feeling of her soft lips, the warmth of her hair, the incredible scent of her skin...it was all seared into his mind, so much so he could almost still feel and smell it all. The hunger it had awoken most certainly had caught him off guard and her unexpected loyalty to him had only exasperated it. What had this woman done to him?

A low growl rumbled in his throat...he had to _focus_.

He couldn't ignore that fact that she had the upper hand, something that had to correct, immediately. It was as if she had seen through his seduction, only humouring him by deepening the kiss to distract him long enough so she could show him just what she was capable of.

Well she was going to answer his questions whether she liked it or not.

He closed his eyes, materialising in Lìa's cell, his keen eyes instantly spotting her, crumpled awkwardly in the corner. A frown passed over his face.

"Lìa?" Nothing answered him. "Lìa, don't ignore me," he threatened, his voice louder and impatient. With the way he was feeling, brought on by her no less, she would sorely regret ignoring him. But as the seconds passed and she remained entirely unresponsive, Loki realised it didn't look like she was breathing.

A shock of concern burst through him and before he could think, he found himself knelt beside her, gently shaking her shoulders. When that appeared to be unsuccessful, he grabbed her wrist, his slender fingers searching for her pulse. When he finally found it, he realised with a rush of horror that her heart was barely beating at all, her pulse weak and irregular. His hand glowed green for just a fraction of a second, sending a burst of energy into her veins which, when it reached her heart, jumpstarted it into action.

She gasped for breath, her eyes flying open, darting around wildly until they fell upon Loki at which point they bulged even more. Loki held her down firmly as she began to struggle.

"Woah, woah... Lìa calm down," Loki ordered, deeply aware of how sickly she suddenly looked, her skin clammy and almost grey. She would recover quickly, as Asgardians did, but she had to let her body do it first and her incessant fighting against him was not helping.

"What are you...get off me...I won't let you have it..." she mumbled, barely coherent.

"Don't be ridiculous I'm not here for the Aether...Lìa _stop it_." The last two words ripped from his throat in snarl and her struggles ceased immediately. She stared at him without blinking, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

"Why are you here then?" she asked warily, her voice raspy and weak.

"You were barely breathing and your heart had basically stopped but I was able to get it going again. My powers don't just lay waste to cities, you know."

Lìa frowned. "Why didn't you just leave me to die? The Aether would have left my body and you could have easily taken possession of it."

Loki stiffened and he hoped Lìa couldn't see the torment that now tore through him from his own idiocy.

 _Damn_.

How in the name of Valhalla had he missed that? This woman had well and truly bewitched him and he didn't like it one bit.

Collecting himself, he arched a dark eyebrow. "And miss out on a chance to interrogate you with the torrent of questions I now have after your little performance before? Not likely." Lìa swallowed hard and Loki sighed deeply; her pulse was still a little weak for his liking. "Lìa give me your hand, your heart still needs a little bit more help." Loki glared at her as she kept her hand by her side and as he went to grab it himself, she snatched it from his grasp. " _Lìa_ ," he growled darkly and under the hostile intensity of his stare, she eventually acquiesced. Wrapping his fingers around her dainty hand, Loki's own hand faintly glowed green once more.

* * *

"Better?" Loki demanded and Lìa nodded, relief flooding her as her senses began to return and she sat herself up, pushing Loki off her. He rose to his feet, his arms finding their usual crossed position behind his back and as he looked down at her, Lìa suddenly understood how prey must feel when it was in the clutches of a rather dangerous predator.

"What do you want to know then?" she finally asked.

Loki scoffed. "Where do I even start? The Aether. The presumed lost, ancient, world-consuming entity somehow ends up in the body of one of Asgard's warriors. How?"

"Two words: Jane Foster," Lìa spat as she scowled and Loki raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Somehow she found it – _don't_ ask me how because I don't know," she said fiercely as Loki looked as if he was about to interject, "but Thor brought her to Asgard in the hope he could save her from the mysterious illness that was sapping all the life from her. She stupidly wandered down to the training grounds and, not knowing who she was, I offered her what I thought to be a little harmless sparring only for the Aether to decide it had found a more suitable host."

Loki looked like he was trying to hide his amusement and he was doing a poor job of it. "Well that is a shame, Thor might have finally stopped pining over that pathetic mortal had the Aether done us all a favour and had her for breakfast."

Lìa couldn't help but smirk. "Oh it never would have got that far. Every healer in the realm would have been assigned to try and save her. But me? I get thrown down into the prisons where I presumably would have just been left until my death was blissfully imminent."

"But you decided that you weren't prepared to let that happen and so you challenge Odin himself, speaking to him as if he were no more than a mere insect under your shoe."

Lìa shrugged nonchalantly. "I had to get his attention somehow."

"And you certainly did. I have to say, you did impress me and I don't say that lightly." A smile spread across Loki's pale lips. "There are a couple of points I need to question, however."

"Oh?" Lìa suppressed the need to roll her eyes; she knew _exactly_ what was coming.

"You rather enjoy the company that comes with being next to my cell?" His voice was sincere but his eyes mocked her fiercely.

"Don't flatter yourself, it was all just part of my attempt to goad Odin," Lìa retorted, a rush of heat blossoming within her as it became apparent that Loki didn't believe her in the slightest.

"Well you see I would have thought that too had it not been for that fact that you then proceeded to defend me in a way that was quite simply, _spectacular_. Now that to me, my dear, seems very much like affection."

A shiver passed over Lìa and she scolded herself; why did she let his insufferable arrogance have such an effect on her?

"And what if it was?" she asked, letting her voice become ever so slightly breathy, a thrill bursting down her spine as Loki's emerald eyes narrowed in response.

"Well you better be careful, as that sort of behaviour, especially when you return a kiss as passionately as you did, could awaken something within me that you may not be able to handle."

Lìa suddenly snapped out of the intoxication of the moment at the memory. She was not prepared to let his silvertongue, or any other part of him for that matter, get the better of her again. She glared at him coldly.

"Yes, I bet you thought you were so clever with that little trick. Tell me, how many women have fallen for it before, and how many have thrown you against a wall instead?"

The playfulness that had been gleaming in Loki's eyes immediately darkened. "In my defence, I didn't expect some lowly criminal to be harbouring ancient power."

His words were saturated with venom and Lìa's breath hitched in her throat. "Well you'll be pleased to know that there wasn't even a drop of affection from this _lowly criminal_. If there was, I'm sure you'd find it utterly repulsive."

Loki's jaw was clenched now, his expression unreadable. "Almost as repulsive as I find your complete lack of gratitude despite the fact I saved your life. I can see when my efforts have been wasted."

Lìa's resolve almost faltered but she was too stubborn to give in, especially to him.

"Goodnight Loki," she murmured and without another word, he vanished from her cell.

Lìa let out a long shaky breath, turning away from where Loki had been stood. Why did his harsh words bother her so much? It wasn't like she _did_ have any affection for him. He was childish and it was a mystery how he could walk around when his ego was so impossibly huge. Yes, he was attractive but he knew it and well, she wouldn't fall prey to such a trivial thing.

But as the seconds passed and the silence of the evening began to calm her, Lìa did feel a pang of remorse. He was right about her appearing ungrateful; she really should have at least thanked him for saving her life. Remarkably and perhaps somewhat concerningly, he had chosen to spare her over taking the Aether. She shoved the thought from her mind; he clearly had his reasons and whatever it was, it wasn't born out of care for her.

Begrudgingly swallowing her pride, Lìa began to turn back around.

"Loki..."

But before she could even finish saying his name, Loki appeared right in front of her, throwing her back against the wall and crushing her lips with an intense and almost desperate kiss. His hands hungrily grabbed at her hair before they began to travel down her body, his lips migrating to her jaw line and then her neck. Lìa lost herself to the incredible sensations that burst across her body at his touch, her arms still helplessly at her side and it took all her willpower to remember to breathe as his eyes met hers. They were burning; two infernos of pure, primal desire.

His cool fingers found the tears in her clothes and without warning he pulled. The material gave way effortlessly and slipped from her skin like water, pooling at her feet. She gasped as she felt the chill in the air but it was only for a second, for suddenly she became deeply aware of Loki's hand sliding up her inner thigh, his touch impossibly delicate. His parted lips smirked against her neck as his fingers finally reached their destination and a soft moan escaped from her throat.

Lìa couldn't believe this was happening and amidst the hazy rapture she found herself in, a tiny voice reminded her of the reality of the situation.

"Loki..." she just about managed to gasp. "They'll see...hear us..."

Loki chuckled, shifting his head so he was looking her in the eye, although his fingers continued their torturous, feather-light exploration. "If anyone bothers to look in this direction they will see you asleep in this very corner, the only sounds your rhythmic breathing."

Shuddering at the incredible skill of his movements, Lìa tried to keep her breathing steady. "But they'll see that you're gone..."

Loki's mouth was suddenly at her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "Let them. You strike me as the sort of woman who thrives off danger anyway." His pace changed without warning, his fingers launching a relentless assault upon her and her knees almost gave way. Grabbing a fistful of his raven hair, she steadied herself and tried her best to retaliate. Her free hand began to slip down his chest until she found his trousers and his very prominent arousal. His breathing deepened at her touch and a growl rumbled in his throat as her fingers slipped underneath the leather and disposed of it.

Grabbing both of her hips, he lifted her from the ground and as she wrapped her legs around him, he filled her entirely. Electrical charges burst through her body, setting every nerve alight and Loki did not stop until she had toppled over the edge not once but twice and he had proceeded to fall with her. He stopped moving but remained within her as he tenderly kissed her lips once more. The moment was profoundly intimate and it was over far too soon; she could have happily stayed as they were for an eternity.

Loki's eyes smouldered as he withdrew himself from her and Lìa marvelled at the sight before her. Her hands had entirely ruined his immaculate hair and the dishevelled state of it made him look even more glorious than usual. As he fixed his clothes, he looked over the tattered remains of hers and smirked before engulfing her in green light. When it cleared, Lìa glanced down to see her body now covered in a simple and tight fitting dress, the material of which was deep green, the seams gold. Lìa arched an eyebrow questionably at his most narcissistic choice of colour. She didn't know whether to thank or berate him but quickly concluded it was probably best to avoid the latter.

"Thank you," she said, her breathing just about returning to normal.

Loki's grin had stretched even further and he leaned in to caress her lips a final time. Barely breaking the kiss, he murmured, "No, thank you," before disappearing from sight.

Lìa stared blankly at where he had been stood for a few moments before sinking down onto the ground and resting her head back against the wall, trying to collect her thoughts long enough to work out what had just happened.


	7. Chapter 7

If someone had told Lìa a week ago that she would be lying in the bed in Loki's cell, wrapped in the strong embrace of the god of mischief himself no less, she would have laughed hysterically at the prospect. And yet here she was.

The last few days after he had taken her wordlessly and ardently against the wall of her cell had been nothing short of incredible. That night seemed to have awoken something within the both of them, a hunger that no matter how much they tried to sate, only seemed to worsen with each attempt. Not that she was complaining.

Who knew she would enjoy her imprisonment so much?

He was a very domineering lover, which was hardly surprising, and although she certainly didn't mind, there was something deeply satisfying about destroying all his arrogance and rendering him entirely speechless by her touch. She quickly learnt the most efficient ways to do so and also how to provoke absolutely sensational reactions from him. For example, a well timed nibble of the porcelain skin between his strong jaw and his ear would draw the most remarkable, animalistic growl from his chest. His resultant retaliation would then proceed to make thinking clearly, and to be honest _thinking altogether_ , very difficult for a blissfully long time afterwards.

That morning had been particularly glorious. Closing her eyes, she indulged herself, her memories transporting her back to a few hours previous.

* * *

Loki had her in a rather precarious position against one of the golden walls of his corner cell, her entirely naked body only inches from the guard stood on duty on the other side. He couldn't hear or see anything that was occurring, Loki's illusions made sure of that, but the act of defiance was still decadently thrilling. He had been right, as he annoyingly always seemed to be: she did thrive off danger.

Loki was also in a similar state of undress and once again Lìa marvelled at his naked form, unabashedly drinking in every inch of his skin. The vast majority of Asgardian women would swoon over the sight of Thor but she just didn't get it. Loki was slighter, yes, but his tall frame was perfectly chiselled with defined muscles and besides, he could still sweep her from the ground with only one hand.

He had been kissing her fiercely, pinning both hands above her head with a single of his but he soon let go of them and began to descend slowly, savouring the skin of her neck, her breasts and finally her stomach, ending up on his knees at her feet, his eyes gazing hungrily between her thighs.

Lìa suddenly couldn't help herself. "Hmm...look who's kneeling now."

Loki's parted lips had just been about to brush her skin but he stopped abruptly at her words, shock flashing across his green eyes as they flicked up to meet hers.

"Excuse me?" he demanded, a smile threatening to burst across his face as he gathered her meaning.

Lìa was determined to push him further. "Oh don't let me stop you, I wouldn't want to interfere with your _glorious purpose_."

Loki's eyes narrowed, the mixture of irritation and disbelief in his expression simply delicious.

"Where did you hear that?"

Lìa smiled sweetly at him. "The very walls gossip in this place. And besides, Thor's obnoxious voice carries far. Very far."

Gripping her thighs tightly, a growl rumbled in Loki's throat and the vibrations stimulated the extremely sensitive area between her legs, causing her entire body to shudder. "You would be wise to avoid speaking my brother's name when I have you in such a position," he threatened darkly.

Lìa took a long, shaky breath, trying desperately to retain her composure. "Those Midgardians were fools. I would unquestionably have knelt for you. There's something very compelling and captivating about you in your full armour."

Loki smirked at her playfully then, his eyebrow arching at it always did when her daring words impressed him. "Even the helmet?"

" _Especially_ the helmet."

Loki was grinning from ear to ear now and he closed his eyes momentarily. His full armour suddenly materialised over his body, a complex array of black and green leather adorned with intricate golden armoured plates, as the deep emerald of his cape spread out across the floor. Lìa gasped as the cool gold of his horned helmet pressed against her skin and Loki chuckled at the desire that now flooded the silver of her eyes.

"You never fail to intrigue me, my dear," he murmured before setting his skilled mouth to her painfully aroused centre.

She could not suppress the moan of pleasure that burst from her lips and Loki responded with a groan of approval as she grasped the two horns of his helmet tightly, forcing him even deeper between her legs.

And just as the heat boiling in her body was ready to explode, Lìa felt Loki's touch disappear entirely. A fierce cry of frustration ripped from her at the cruel denial of her pleasure and her eyes flew open, ready to glare furiously at Loki.

But he was nowhere to be seen. Lìa stared around his tiny cell incredulously. Where could he have possibly gone?

With shaking legs she stepped forward. "Loki?" she called warily.

His deep, velvet voice sounded behind her. "Yes?"

Lìa whipped round to see him leaning against the table, his arms crossed and a smug glint in his eyes. She scowled at him and began marching over to him. "You devious little..." But before she could finish, the hand that had been about to grab Loki's leather-bound arm passed straight through it and his illusion disappeared from existence, grinning as it went.

Lìa's whole body trembled with anticipation, a combination of arousal and apprehension. She was certain he was toying with her, punishing her after she had ridiculed him earlier. Staggering backwards, she suddenly froze as she felt a cool finger sweep the copper curls from her shoulder, his lips finding the exposed skin of her neck. He whispered in her ear, his tone magnificently dangerous.

"I think _mischievous_ is a far better description, my dear."

Lìa rolled her eyes and flew round, only for her fingers to find thin air again. She breathed deeply as she glanced all around her, searching desperately for a flash of green. Her breath hitched in her throat however as she felt something delicately brush between her legs, the mere, unexpected touch nearly enough to send her rocketing over the edge. His skilled teasing was enough to drive any woman mad but the presence of the Aether in her blood seemed to heighten every feeling, making it positively torturous.

"That's not fair..." she gasped through gritted teeth, her brow pulled into a frown.

Loki's touch vanished again and his deep voice rumbled behind her.

"My sincerest apologies."

She glanced over her shoulder to see him leant against the far wall, looking infuriatingly pleased with himself. Throwing a glare at him, Lìa turned her attention to the other Loki that had appeared before her, perched again on the edge of the table. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of falling for his tricks again; he'd had enough fun for one day. Taking a deep breath, she fixed her grey eyes on the Loki in front of her and pounced.

But she was wrong again.

She passed straight through the illusion and the real Loki, the one that been leant against the wall the entire time, threw her onto the table from behind. She yelped in shock only for the noise to get caught in her throat and escape as gasps of pleasure instead as he thrust within her and didn't stop until she was absolutely exhausted. So exhausted in fact, that he had to carry her to his bed as her legs just wouldn't comply, much to his amusement.

And it was in his bed that she had drifted in and out of sleep ever since, trying desperately to curb her searing infatuation of the man next to her that was threatening to completely consume her.

 _Stupid, arrogant prince_.

* * *

Loki had been watching Lìa sleep for a little while now and his thoughts refused to stop racing. She fascinated him but he was starting to feel a little concerned at just how easily and intensely she had totally captivated him. Perhaps he should try and distance himself from her for a little while.

No. Even the thought of it was utterly abhorrent.

Sighing deeply, he cast his gaze over her sleeping form again, noticing with a pang of concern that her bones were looking just a little more prominent then they had been the other day. She was undeniably strong but the Aether was still taking its toll on her and he seriously doubted that the guards would be feeding her a lot after her altercation with Odin, if at all. He would have to ensure that she got some of his food although trying to keep her healthy seemed like a double edged sword. She would just wither away if he did nothing but the Aether would also thrive off any nourishment given to her, as if it were some sinister unborn child.

Loki suddenly felt a rush of horror. Why hadn't he considered it earlier? Three days earlier to be precise. Reaching over, he shook Lìa's shoulder firmly.

"Lìa wake up."

She stirred, turning her head to scowl sleepily at him. "I don't know whether to hate you or to despise you after what you've done to me."

Loki laughed but only briefly, still very much gripped by his concern. "Lìa, please tell me you'd taken suitable...precautions in light of our recent activities."

Lìa frowned at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Loki sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Midgard's strange depictions of Asgard contain tales where I father multiple illegitimate children. I would rather like that not to be the case."

He watched Lìa's eyes widen as she finally got his meaning. He was a little taken aback when she scoffed; it didn't seem like a wholly unreasonable question.

"You needn't worry about that, Loki," she finally replied, her voice just a touch bitter. "I was told a long time ago that it would be extremely unlikely I would ever be able to conceive."

"How come?" The words had come out of his mouth before he could even consider if they were appropriate. That didn't worry him, of course, but the fact that he had even bothered to ask at all. Burying his conflicting thoughts, he waited for her response.

Lìa seemed like she could be barely bothered to voice her reply. "Just the usual story. Mother dies young, father can't cope so drowns his grief in alcohol and descends into a fit of rage if his children even so much as breathe at the wrong time." Her eyes darkened and her voice became monotonous, losing all of its emotion. "They say after his worst episode I didn't wake for nearly a week. The wounds on the surface faded over time but I was left with some lasting scars."

A frown had passed over Loki's face at her words. "And that's why you decided to train as a warrior?"

Lìa nodded, still not meeting his gaze. "How very perceptive of you. The long training hours provided an adequate distraction with the eventual prospect of relocation to the palace or some distant battlefield. Oh, and they actively encouraged hacking things to pieces with a blade."

Reaching across to her, Loki placed two fingers under her chin, raising her head gently so she was looking him in the eye. "You never cease to amaze me, Lìa."

She finally smiled then. "My upbringing may also be the reason why I am so fiercely intolerant of fathers who blame the reasons for their children's messed up lives on anyone but themselves."

Loki stared at her, feeling something stir within him. It wasn't desire, it was something unfathomably deeper than that. All he knew was that he had to kiss her...

His lips had been inches from hers when the sound of distant footsteps began to grow louder as they descended into the depths.

Loki snarled in irritation. "Could they have picked a more inconvenient time to inspect the prisons?"

Lìa rolled her eyes at Loki's overreaction. "It doesn't matter. If they look into either of our cells they'll just see your illusions."

"Lìa," Loki sighed impatiently. "You were that exhausted earlier that you could barely walk and that was only after enduring what I gave to you. I on the other hand have had to maintain two separate illusions, not counting the one that you saw. And that doesn't even take into account the toll of my own _exertions_." He broke off to glare at Lìa who was biting her lip, looking very much like she was trying not to giggle. "I don't know if I even have enough energy left to get you back to your cell but I guess we'll soon find out. Now, as much as I loathe saying it, will you please put your clothes back on."

Lìa gave up trying not to laugh then but she did comply and once they were both suitably dressed, Loki took hold of her arm and vanished them back into her bare cell.

Looking around in disgust, Lìa sighed. "Is this what it looks like? I'd almost forgotten."

Loki towered over her, staring at her intensely as he swept some curls behind her ear. "Give me a few hours of sleep and then, I promise, I'll come and get you."

"Don't keep me waiting too long," she teased, stretching up to kiss him. Loki growled as she tried to deepen the kiss and he broke it forcefully.

"I swear you'll be the end of me woman." His eyes snatched to the sound of the imminently arriving guards and by the time she had blinked he had already gone.

* * *

Lìa had just been drifting off to sleep herself when the most horrendous roar ripped through the prison, quickly followed by a deafening explosion that shook the very walls of her cell. A tense silence flooded back, only to be shattered by the horrifying scream of a man. A cacophony of cries then broke out, some guttural, some panicked and within a matter of minutes the corridor outside of her cell had descended into mayhem as it filled with prisoners who had somehow broken out of their cells.

Only a pitiful number of guards responded to the disaster and the reason soon became glaringly obvious as several, far more severe explosions sounded above her head. It wasn't just the prisons that were under attack.

Lìa threw herself to her feet, storming over to the golden wall of her cell and craning her neck to try and see what had allowed all the prisoners to suddenly break free. The answer sent ice shooting down her spine.

An impossibly huge creature came to stand before her, its scale-like armour seemingly fused with its skin. Eight horns adorned its head and its unsettling, white eyes were fixed intently on her. Panic flooded her as it balled one hand into a fist and raised it, as if it was going to try and smash through the wall of her cell. It didn't get very far before Loki's voice sounded over the bedlam, its tone harsh and yet somehow still velvety.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The creature tore its gaze from Lìa and turned to look at Loki instead. "The girl comes with me," it snarled.

Lìa felt her stomach clench at the thought but Loki didn't seem as concerned. "Debatable. But either way, if you smash through that wall, the energy that it releases will have a rather profound effect on the woman you seek and it won't work out in your favour."

Loki's words confused Lìa. If what he was saying was true, that the energy that would be freed would empower her enough to subdue the repulsive creature before her, then why was he discouraging it? And then it struck her. The reality was most likely the complete opposite. Such a surge in energy could be too much for her to take and with her dead, the Aether would enter the next available and suitable host, undeniably being this armoured creature. Either way, it was too much of a risk to take.

Squaring her shoulders, she addressed the monster before her. "I will go with you." She flinched, almost feeling the heat of Loki's glare through the wall that connected their cells.

"No." The amount of ferocity in the one word was incredible. She waited for him to appear, to restrain her, but seconds passed and she remained alone. She could only imagine the maddening infuriation he had to have been feeling, especially since the loss of his power was purely his own doing.

The creature had turned back to face her now and Lìa swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady. "But please, spare the architecture and press the panel to your right." After a moment's consideration, it did as she asked and the iridescent, golden wall flickered before disappearing altogether. Jumping out of her cell, Lìa began to walk forward, deeply aware of her monstrous captor beside her. As she passed Loki's cell, she risked a glance in his direction.

"Lìa..." he growled, his eyes desperate, every muscle tensed.

Not even a drop of fear leaked into her voice. "I will give your father your regards."

Despite the danger of the situation, a smile threatened at Loki's pursed lips as he suddenly understood her intent. "Might I suggest the stairs to the left then."

With that she was violently shoved forward and escorted up the left-hand staircase until they emerged above ground and were thrown into the battlefield that had once been Asgard's palace. Her captor quickly got distracted by the torrent of golden warriors that launched themselves at it and Lìa ceased her opportunity, running and ducking through the mass of fighting bodies that filled the palace's airy chambers.

The army that had descended on Asgard wasn't particularly grotesque, not like the creature that had stolen her from the prisons, but was rather more unnerving. White masks covered their faces and their eyes just looked like bottomless, empty abysses. The weapons they fought with also made the Asgardian warriors look like they were carrying no more than twigs. One threw a grenade into the air only for anything and anyone who got caught in its blast radius to be sucked into its implosion and erased from existence a few seconds later.

Lìa forced herself to keep moving; she had to find somewhere quiet to gather her thoughts and formulate a plan, if that was possible. She hadn't got much further before someone grabbed her arm and pulled at it. She had been about to scream when she realised the touch wasn't aggressive but soft, albeit with an undeniable urgency. Whipping round, her eyes bulged in shock as she caught sight of the queen who was frantically trying to direct her through a doorway and into a corridor that was thankfully devoid of any enemies. Lìa knew she had little choice but to follow and, slamming the door shut behind her, she started down the corridor after Frigga, almost struggling to keep up with her.

"You are not to question anything I tell you, you are only to do it immediately." Her voice was firm and yet still kind and Lìa nodded her head sharply; now was not the time to complicate matters.

And so, following the queen's orders exactly, Lìa found herself hiding behind a pillar in what she presumed one of the many rooms of the royal quarters, anxiously waiting for the inevitable arrival of Malekith, the Dark Elf whom she had presumed dead, as the stories had told. She was hardly surprised, however, that he was alive what with the fact that the same stories had claimed that the Aether had been destroyed. It was simmering under her skin currently and Lìa tried to keep calm for Frigga had warned her that Malekith could sense its presence, hence why he had bothered coming to Asgard in the first place.

She strained her hearing as Frigga's voice sounded in the next room, followed by a deeper, more hostile voice. A battle raged in her mind; the queen had told her under no circumstances was she to leave this room but at the same time she couldn't just leave her in the hands of Malekith. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the folds of her dress and began to sprint towards the door but the piercing scream of agony that ripped through the air told her she was too late.

Bursting into the room, she sagged against the pillar beside her at the sight of the queen's limp and bloody body lay on the floor. Thor had already caused Malekith to flee and Odin was knelt by Frigga, cradling the corpse of his wife and muttering softly. He raised his head at the sound of Lìa's entrance and for once, she faltered under his tear-filled gaze.

She let herself be escorted back to the prisons without struggling, utterly devoid of any desire or energy to do so. Bodies littered the corridors, the torches on the walls casting sinister reflections in the pools of blood that seeped from them. Horror shredded through her as she caught sight of a guard outside of Loki's cell, presumably informing him of Frigga's murder. Loki must have dismissed the guard for he bowed his head and left, bringing Loki into sight. He froze as he caught sight of Lìa and she felt almost sick as she stared into the hate-filled chasms of despair that had replaced his eyes. He only looked at her for a few seconds before snatching his head away and Lìa could barely breathe. She was shoved into her original cell, since it was the only one beside Loki's that hadn't been destroyed, and the golden wall ebbed back into life, trapping her once more.

Throwing her head into her hands, Lìa sank down onto the floor, not even bothering to attempt to hold back the ocean of tears that burst from her.

 _What had she done?_


	8. Chapter 8

The days that followed were more awful than Lìa could ever have imagined, the dizzying elation that she had been soaring upon from Loki's affection only making her descent into utter misery all the worse.

She didn't sleep or eat, not that there was a mouthful of food anyway, and not even the severity of her dehydration worried her, despite her body running out of enough moisture to even cry a good day previous. The Aether seemed to relish in her depression but Lìa soon grew numb to the fact that she was becoming profoundly weaker by the hour.

Truly, she didn't care.

Witnessing the blistering grief and hostility that had been burning in Loki's eyes was far more torture than slowly withering away into oblivion could ever be. Even worse than that was the way he had turned from her in disgust, almost as if he blamed her for some part in Frigga's death. Lìa had known all along that Loki wasn't particularly stable, but the more time she had spent with him the more he had seemed to relax, her company gently peeling away the barricades around his heart that had let him remain stoic and aloof for so long. She knew that the playful prince she had grown so fiercely and dangerously fond of was most certainly gone now. And she wasn't sure if he would ever resurface.

If enduring her own thoughts and grief was painful, then hearing the sounds coming from the cell next to her was beyond agony.

Judging by the relentless and violent bangs and smashes that met her ears, Loki appeared to have been destroying his cell, not resting until every last piece lay in ruin. The absolute silence that then followed was infinitely more concerning for Lìa knew that nothing could torture Loki more than his own mind.

When a day had passed and Lìa had almost turned mad with worry, a scream erupted from his cell that made her long for the blissful silence again. It was a raw, _broken_ lament, the abhorrence of which caused her to sink onto the cold, hard floor, tearless sobs wracking her body until her mind mercifully pulled her into a fitful sleep.

When she finally awoke, she crawled over to the wall that adjoined their cells and pressed herself against it, closing her eyes and sighing deeply.

"Loki? Talk to me... _please_."

She suddenly felt like she was falling and she landed in the shards of something sharp, sending pain shooting through her hands. Her breath choked in her throat as she opened her eyes and took in the wasteland of metal and paper that was Loki's cell. His furniture had been ripped apart and pieces lay scattered amongst the abused remains of books, every page having been torn out and launched across the room. The white of the walls was also marred by sinister looking black marks, many in the shape of fists. Truly nothing had escaped his rage.

Her eyes bulged as they finally settled on Loki who was slumped against the far wall, his appearance even more shocking than the state of his cell. He was impossibly pale, his hair matted and chaotic while dark circles lay under his eyes, screaming a complete lack of sleep. His eyes flicked to her, devoid of any emotion, any _life_ at all.

"Do you still desire me now, Lìa?" he murmured listlessly. Lìa had been about to chastise him for such a ridiculous question when her eyes descended from his face and she gasped in horror.

"Loki, your _foot_..." she whispered.

Loki gazed uninterestedly down at his bare foot that was stretched out before him, the other crossed under his body. It was coated in fresh, vivid scarlet blood that oozed from a deep, ragged gash. "Aren't you surprised that it's not blue?" he spat scornfully. "Not from my non-existent royalty of course, but the rather repulsive truth of my parentage."

"Loki, don't do this to yourself..." Lìa began to beg but he ignored her.

"Do you know what my last words to her were?" He laughed humourlessly, the sound almost deranged. "That she was not my mother. Despite the fact that she was the only one to ever show me true kindness in the entirety of my pathetic life. And now she is gone and I can never tell her otherwise."

Lìa was desperate to try and comfort his poor, ravaged heart but the moment she tried to stand, her weak legs wobbled and gave way, dropping her heavily back down onto the shattered remains of Loki's table. With a sigh she tried to sooth him with words instead.

"She would have known all the same, I'm sure. She even graced me with some of her kindness. I'm pretty sure I owe my life to her."

Loki suddenly stiffened, a foreboding hostility darkening in his eyes.

"You were with her?" he growled and Lìa swallowed hard, quailing under just how furious he now looked.

"She pulled me from the battle that had consumed the majority of the palace and found me somewhere to hide from Malekith who had come for the Aether. I didn't know she was planning to fool him, not until I heard his voice in the next room..."

Loki looked truly appalled. "And you did _nothing_?!" he roared, the force tensing every tendon in his neck.

Anger flooded Lìa then. "What would you have had me do, Loki? I had no weapon, nothing!"

A terrifying snarl ripped from Loki as he launched himself at Lìa, throwing her against the wall, his seething eyes an inch from hers. "Anything! Anything to stop her being _slaughtered_ like some animal."

Lìa was quivering violently in fear; Loki wholly looked like he could kill her at that moment and even worse, like he _wanted_ to. And yet the Aether didn't react, almost as if it longed for such danger, its insatiable esurience craving only the most potent of emotions.

"Don't you dare blame me for her death," she spat, her breathing rapid and uneven.

Loki lost all control then, lashing out at her and striking the side of her face viciously. Lìa cried out in pain, her expression contorting with terror. She recoiled, shrinking in on herself as a torrent of sickening memories crashed upon her. Her glassy eyes reluctantly returned to Loki, who was breathing deeply, a look of shock now on his face as his trembling fingers reached out to touch the stinging skin of her cheek that blazed with heat.

"Lìa...I..."

She whimpered, turning her face as far away from him as she could. "Please don't," she begged.

"Lìa, _please_." His low voice trembled with guilt.

Taking a deep breath, Lìa stared at the floor, desperate to look anywhere other than his eyes. "Take me back to my cell."

A few tense seconds passed and then she felt the lightest of touches on her arm. Before she could even react she was back in her own cell, where she groped at the wall for support, letting tearless sobs burst from her chest once more.

* * *

A few hours passed and Lìa sat, lost in a haze of painful memories that she had suppressed years ago for the sake of her own wellbeing. She winced as she tentatively brushed her throbbing cheek, feeling the angry swelling of her skin.

The low rumble of a familiar voice sounded outside of her cell and it pulled Lìa from her thoughts. If she wasn't mistaken, Thor had finally decided to pay Loki a visit. With a perverse scoff, Lìa wondered if Thor would receive the same warm welcome that she had. She tried to strain her hearing to listen into their conversation but quickly gave up, hearing nothing more than muffled voices. Just as she did, however, Thor appeared in front of her cell, followed by Loki whose appearance was immaculate once more, his rather more formal looking attire signifying that Thor hadn't just come for a chat. As if he was confirming her suspicions, Thor pressed the panel to his right and the golden wall between them vanished.

"I'm going to need you to follow me," he said, his tone hushed with just a touch of urgency. It was hardly surprising, he was undoubtedly committing treason.

Lìa stared at him without blinking. "Even if I wanted to, I'm not really in the state to do so. I barely have enough energy as it is to even breathe."

She saw Loki frown as he watched her heavily laboured breathing and he turned to Thor. "Brother, give me five minutes."

Thor looked between the two of them and nodded sharply. "But no more."

As he walked from sight, Loki stepped up into Lìa's cell, approaching her extremely cautiously, his expression desperate and perhaps even more shockingly, sincere.

"Lìa I am truly sorry. Nothing excuses my actions before, especially since I am aware of the dark details of you past. Thor, for all his faults was able to make me see sense. If you had intervened with Malekith then I would have mostly likely lost the both of you that day and I am fervently glad that is not the case."

Lìa remained silent, even as he sank to his knees before her, his hand outstretched.

"I mean you no harm, I promise." Loki placed his hand gently against her cheek, his cool fingers drawing the heat and pain from her skin until it was flawless once more.

Closing her eyes in relief, Lìa sighed. "Thank you."

Loki shook his head. "It is the very least you deserve. Now to try and fix the rest of your wellbeing that I've neglected..." He closed his eyes, placing one hand over the over and when he opened them, his hands contained a little golden flower, its delicate petals softly glimmering with power. He tucked it into her hair, nestling it between her copper curls. "This should give you enough energy for the time being and it will ensure that you don't sink into such a state again. As will I."

Despite feeling strength flowing back through her, Lìa still didn't say a word, silenced by the gravity of Loki's genuine remorse. His emerald eyes frantically searched hers for even an inkling as to what she was thinking.

"Can you forgive me?"

Lìa answered him in the only way that could truly convey her feelings. She placed her hand over his chiselled cheek and pulled him gently towards her. The kiss that followed was more intensely intimate than anything they had shared before and it shifted something within Lìa, bringing emotions to life that she knew at that moment could never leave her.

Loki seemed to experiencing something similar as he was breathing deeply when the kiss ended and he placed his forehead against hers, seemingly unwilling to break their contact. After a moment of blissful respite, his eyes flickered open.

"Come. Time to see if we can get rid of the Aether for good."

* * *

Loki seemed in extremely high spirits as they hurried through the palace's corridors, jovially teasing Thor about his uncharacteristic clandestine actions, even replacing Thor's body with Sif's, although he didn't find it anywhere near as amusing as she and Loki did. Lìa couldn't help but laugh however when Loki transformed himself into a tall, blonde man, clad in something truly ostentatious and odd. To top it off, he suddenly began speaking the most ridiculous accent only for Thor to clamp his large hand down firmly on Loki's mouth, forcing him up against a nearby pillar and causing his illusion to fade as two guards walked past them.

"What in Hel's name did I just witness?" Lìa hissed, trying to suppress her laughter.

Loki grinned at her. "That was one of Thor's new friends. He didn't like me very much, rather like the rest of them."

Thor was intently watching the guards as they continued their patrols, entirely unaware of their presence. "Is it any wonder after what you did to them?"

Loki threw a wink at Lìa who rolled her eyes and they both looked to Thor as he reached for something within the folds of his clothing.

"Ah, finally. I was wondering when you were going to return my dagger." But just as his smug words had left Loki's lips, shock flashed across his eyes as a small, but audible click sounded. He raised his wrists that were now bound and glared at Thor, deeply unimpressed.

A giggle burst from Lìa and she bit her lip as Loki's glare flew to her. She stretched up to whisper in his ear. "It looks like it's not just mortals who suit subjugation."

The glorious mixture of irritation and admiration that she loved so much flashed across his eyes. "Someone's feeling better," he growled, a smirk threatening at his mouth. He turned to Thor. "Since you've felt it necessary to shackle me, are you not going to do the same to the lady?"

Thor replied without looking, his eyes still fixed on the guards in the distance. "I trust her infinitely more than I trust you, brother. Now come, we need to move."

Loki chuckled as they began to hurry down the corridor again. "That's possibly one of the most sensible things I've ever heard you say."

When they emerged into the palace's grandest chamber where Odin's throne sat, Lìa couldn't help but gasp in shock as she took in the destruction that had occurred there. A huge, black ship was lodged in between countless cracked and broken pillars, seemingly having come hurtling into the chamber at some speed. Sif and Volstagg were anxiously waiting beside it and they leapt forward as they saw Thor approaching.

"About time," Sif grumbled and as Thor walked past to converse with Volstagg, she stepped in front of Loki, placing her elegant sword against the pale skin of his neck. Loki smirked in response although his jaw clenched slightly at the icy touch of her blade."If you even so much as think about betraying him I'll..."

Lìa cut her off abruptly. "I wouldn't even bother sweetheart. You so much as touch him and I'll make sure it's the last thing you ever do." She smiled sweetly at Sif and Loki's arrogant smile only widened as Sif retracted her blade with a scowl.

"You're quite a feral little thing when you want to be," he remarked only for his stride to be immediately interrupted by Volstagg's arm and he proceeded to threaten Loki just as Sif had. Loki rolled his eyes and he looked to Lìa as she retaliated once more.

"If anyone is going to kill him, it will be me." With that, she pushed past Volstagg, following Thor onto the monstrous ship that she hoped he knew how to fly. Loki presently joined them, just as the chamber began to flood with armoured guards. Thor began pressing every button he could find, although _hitting_ was a far more accurate description. Lìa's heart began to thump anxiously as the guards drew uncomfortably close and she was about to chastise the brothers for their utterly useless bickering when the ship rumbled to life and surged into the air.

Lìa's stomach lurched and she clung to one of the ship's control panels as Thor's heavy-handed steering caused the ship to tilt violently to one side. She had never flown before and the sensation was highly unpleasant. Despite the aid from Loki's flower, she suddenly felt her strength disappear again and although she fought to stay conscious, the last thing she was aware of was Loki's arms as they caught her falling body.


	9. Chapter 9

She rose groggily back to the waking world, suddenly roused sharply by the sounds of Loki and Thor viciously fighting.

"You know damn well who!" Thor bellowed and the surface underneath Lìa jerked, dipping down heavily towards the right. The jolt caused her eyes to fly open and they instantly fell on Thor's huge form that was towering over Loki. One hand was forcefully pinning Loki's neck to the side of the small ship they were on, the other balled into a fist and raised above his head ready to strike.

"Stop it!" Lìa cried, shocked at how hoarse her voice sounded. The heads of both brothers snatched round to look at her and Thor's grip eventually relented as he turned solemnly from Loki, mumbling something about their mother not wanting them to fight.

Loki got to his feet, still managing to remain graceful despite having his wrists bound and he looked at Lìa intensely in a mixture of relief and concern, the emotion of whatever had transpired between him and Thor clearly also weighing heavy on him. Without breaking his gaze, he began walking towards her, calling out to Thor behind him. "Brother, take the controls."

Lìa heard Thor grunt but she was focused on Loki as he knelt down beside her, softly stroking her gaunt face with one of his bound hands. His face contorted with unease as he looked at her closely.

"Your eyes..." he gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" Lìa demanded anxiously.

"They're...black. It's getting too strong," he sighed worriedly. "Even my magic is useless."

Lìa tried to reassure him, forcing herself to bury the fear simmering in her blood alongside the Aether that throbbed mockingly with each pulse of her heart. "It got me this far, didn't it?" Her eyes flicked between Loki and Thor, finding a way to change the subject. "What was that all about?"

Shaking his head, Loki clenched his jaw, breaking their eye contact to scowl into the distance. "The fool still clings to pointless sentiment, wishing he could trust me."

Lìa swallowed hard. "Can I trust you?"

Loki's head whipped back to look at Lìa, his lips pressed into a thin line and something unreadable in his emerald eyes. "There is only one thing that either of you can truly trust." He paused, the silence lingering for long enough that Lìa began to wonder if that itself was his answer. Finally he spoke, two words ripping from his throat in a low, fervent growl. " _My rage_."

They flew in silence for some time, their little ship speeding over the sepia wasteland below. The sky was overcast and foreboding, the permanently eclipsed sun leeching the colour from everything.

From what she had read, Lìa knew there was only one place they could be: Svartalfheim, home of the Dark Elves. With a jolt of unease she suddenly realised she had no clue as to what the brothers were plotting. She nudged Loki who still sat close beside her.

"Please tell me you have a plan. Because right now it feels very much like we're heading straight to Malekith to just hand him the Aether."

Mock outrage flew across Loki's face, the dingy light somehow making his cheekbones all the more prominent. "How dare you insult me in such a vulgar manner."

Lìa glared impatiently at him. "Well? Tell me then." She frowned as Loki hesitated and then looked at her apologetically.

"I don't think it wise to do so. I fear you will give us away if I do."

It was Lìa's turn to be outraged, although this time her indignation was genuine.

"Is that so? Are you forgetting the fact that I managed to fool you, the self-proclaimed 'master of lies'?" Irritation spiked in her blood as it looked like Loki was trying not to smirk at her furious outburst.

"I'll have you know it was not me who coined that name, although I do very much enjoy it." He rolled his eyes as Lìa continued to glare at him, feeling very intolerant of his arrogance given the current circumstances. "Fine, if you must know I'm refusing to tell you because the Aether is too intimately connected to your emotions and your emotions, my dear, are breathtakingly potent."

Lìa went to retort ferociously but bit her lip when that _insufferable_ dark eyebrow began to arch derisively, the way it always did when Loki knew he was right. He was, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction by confirming it.

She sighed deeply. "So what, you're saying that even if I was displaying my best acting skills, Malekith would still be able to sense that my fear wasn't genuine and thus see our deceit?"

"Exactly. I'm glad you understand."

"I understand, but I don't like it," Lìa growled but Loki looked adamant.

"It really is better if you're left guessing. I will let you know one little secret though."

"Oh?" Lìa said uninterestedly; she was sure his 'little secret' wasn't going to be anything remotely useful in the slightest.

"I've thought of a way to save that slender, pretty neck of yours once we've extracted the Aether and returned to Asgard."

Lìa stared at him incredulously, the scheming glint in his eyes suddenly encapsulating the whole of her attention. "How?"

Loki threw a cautious glance in Thor's direction before leaning closely in towards Lìa, enveloping her once again in his glorious scent. His deep voice rumbled in her ear in a low whisper.

"Put it this way, if a moment arises for you to leap in and save Thor from what would otherwise be a painful death, you take it. Despite how much Odin loathes you, I suspect he will find it very difficult to then execute the woman who saved the life of his one and only heir."

Lìa wasn't sure if it was the proximity of Loki himself or the genius of his brilliant mind but something caused a thrill of desire to shoot through her. She thought about kissing him until Thor's voice boomed behind them, abruptly reminding her of his presence.

"Why are you whispering? I hope you are not discussing anything at my expense."

Loki smirked at her before turning to face Thor. "Of course not, brother. I was merely thanking the lady for making the recent period of my imprisonment so entertaining. And pleasurable," he added with a wink at Lìa. She stared at him in shock, not knowing whether to be flattered or to scold him for divulging such information to his brother.

Thor suddenly looked deeply uncomfortable and he stared into the distance, frowning. "I dread to think what has occurred between those walls."

Loki grinned roguishly. "Enough to make me almost long to be back there."

Thor's next words caused Lìa's eyes to narrow in contempt.

"You will be soon enough."

A little while later they reached their destination and began to descend, Loki taking over the controls again. If Thor had tried to land the ship, his heavy-handed approach would not only have most likely left the ship in ruins, but caught the attention of every Dark Elf in the vicinity. As it was, Loki landed the craft silently, hardly jostling them at all as it made contact with the dusty ground.

As they jumped down, Lìa went to congratulate Loki on his piloting skills, only for the words to choke in her throat. He looked at her very briefly, but it was long enough to feel the force of the hostility that now emanated from him. He regarded her almost coldly but Lìa tried to ignore it; he was probably just mentally preparing for what they were about to face.

Stealthily, they crept across the barren ground, crouching down on a large rock that overlooked a huge, desolate plane. The most monstrous ship lay before them, stretching up impossibly high, a sinister beacon drawing them towards their target. Positioned in front of the ship was a small army of Dark Elves, the white of their unnerving masks very striking in the unnatural light that filled the realm. Stood before all of them was, Lìa presumed, the one they called Malekith, his white, angular face devoid of a mask but no less intimidating for it. He could very well have been wearing a mask, however, for one side of his face was flawless while the other was marred, as if it had been heavily singed. Or struck by lightning, Lìa wondered. Beside him was the grotesque creature that had stolen her from the prisons that fateful night, or as she now understood it, a Kursed; a Dark Elf that had undergone a horrifying transformation as Loki had explained to her.

By the time her eyes finished sweeping over the scene below them, Lìa heard the familiar click of Loki's cuffs, followed by the mechanical sound of their release. She threw a questioning look at Loki but he was staring intensely at Thor, his expression suddenly menacing, malice gleaming his green eyes. Muttering something darkly under his breath, an elegant dagger materialised in his right hand and much to Lìa's shock, he drove it deep into Thor's side.

Thor roared in agony and Loki wrenched the blade from his torso, letting Thor tumble down the dusty ground sloping away beneath them until he met the bottom with some force and lay writhing in pain.

Lìa could not help the cry that burst from her lips and she looked to Loki in horror as his seething glare flew to her. "Loki, what are you..."

He grabbed her face viciously, crushing her cheeks with his fingers and cutting her off as his lethal voice ripped through his throat. "If you know what's good for you, _girl_ , you won't utter another word." With that he launched her down the slope after Thor.

By the time she had stopped falling and removed enough dust from her eyes and mouth so she could see and breathe again, Loki had descended with them although it appeared his brutal rampage had only just begun. Malekith and the rest of the Dark Elves looked on like spectators at some sadistic show as Loki prowled around Thor, toying with him and then kicking him in the face with all his strength the moment he tried to pick himself up from the ground.

A small part of Lìa's mind had been quietly reassuring her that this was all just an act, that perhaps Loki was orchestrating the 'painful death' she was supposed to save Thor from. Any hope of that was immediately silenced as she watched Loki stalk over to Thor and grab the outstretched arm that he had been calling his hammer with, flashing him a perverse smile before slicing through his arm just below the elbow. Thor's eyes bulged and the sound that ripped from his throat caused nausea to smack into Lìa forcefully as he clutched the bloody remains of his arm.

She could not suppress the shriek of terror that burst from her and her heart almost stopped as Loki whipped round to face her, breathing deeply, his expression feral and utterly deranged. She began to struggle to her feet but Loki had reached her before she even got close and his hand crushed her neck, violently dragging her upright. Gasping for air, Lìa desperately searched his eyes for a whisper of humanity, some remnant of the affection that had once burned there and had almost become like a drug to her.

It had been the only thing that had kept her afloat in the dark abyss of depression that had threatened to consume her when she had considered a lifetime in that tiny cell. And now it was gone she yearned for it painfully, wishing with all her heart that she had been taken to some distant cell as it was always intended. Perhaps the Aether would have been merciful. Either way it would have saved her from the crippling grief she felt now; it was as if her heart really was going to break in two.

Loki seemed to sense her inner torment and he began to snarl venomously. "What's wrong? Are you feeling the gravity of your mistake, believing unlike everyone else that I wasn't some psychopath beyond redemption? Did you really think that you could save me, Lìa? Is that what you were trying to do? Subdue the monster by coxing out the man? You poor, foolish girl."

Lìa's eyes burned with tears. "Loki no...I never tried to do anything...please, stop this."

But Loki ignored her, still seething relentlessly as he dragged her closer and closer to where Malekith was stood. "You really thought I cared for you, didn't you? It's hardly surprising, it's not like anyone has shown you even a drop of concern in the majority of your life. Have you considered why that might be? It might shock you, but maybe the problem lies with yourself. It would explain why you've always been nothing more than a means to an end. An outlet for your father's drunken rage, a vessel for the Aether and now, something to bargain with so I can get the only thing I desire. _Revenge_."

Lìa could barely breathe. His words were beyond cruel, finding the ragged scars of her past and tearing them open again. The Aether had well and truly rejoiced in her suffering; it boiled so furiously in her blood that her body felt like it could combust at any second and a red haze had passed over her vision. It had changed her voice to, for when she spoke, the words ripped from her throat in an inhuman growl.

"You're a _monster_."

Satisfaction seemed to gleam in Loki's eyes. "That's more like it."

They were metres from Malekith when Loki stopped walking and he launched Lìa in front of him, letting her fall heavily to the ground.

"Malekith!" he yelled, his voice deep and fevered. "I bring a gift. Both the Aether, and a plaything for yourself and your men. She's quite the little whore."

Lìa felt as if his words had stabbed her through her heart, just another wound adding to the countless that now ravaged it. She didn't bother opening her eyes or trying to struggle. Whatever was going to happen to her didn't matter. Nothing did anymore.

Something began lifting her off the ground and although Lìa had almost become numb to what was going on around her, that couldn't escape her attention. Soon she was suspended fully, her body limp and her eyes rolled into the back of her head as the Aether began draining from her body. It went reluctantly, almost as if it was formed of thousands of tiny claws that scraped agonisingly for traction in her veins. What was worse, it seemed to be heavily swollen from her anguish and its exit threatened to destroy her completely as it left her body.

However, just as she was on the brink of oblivion, a spark of energy burst through her, not the lethal corruption of the Aether but something bright and pure. It pulled her back from the edge and soon it was joined by another fierce, brilliant power that seemed to cleanse her ruined body as it surged through it, drawing her consciousness out of the depths until she felt like she could open her eyes.

She immediately wished she hadn't as Loki filled her vision completely. He was stretched protectively over her as if he was shielding her from something and she tried to recoil, truly unable to endure any more torture he could come up with. A cocktail of emotions bubbled in Loki's eyes as he realised she was awake. First came relief, quickly followed by fierce distress at the utterly disturbed expression on Lìa's face as she struggled in vain beneath him, although that was very quickly met by a solemn acceptance, as if he had expected her to react as such. Finally came a fierce urgency, which he also voiced.

"Lìa stay down!" He shielded both of their eyes as the sky suddenly erupted with light, which Lìa realised was firing from Thor's hammer. He was blasting the rampant chaos of the Aether that was swirling above Malekith with lightning and suddenly it exploded, showering Malekith in red, glowing shards. Malekith, however, did not look perturbed in the slightest and the reason why immediately became very evident. The Aether might have been in many pieces but it certainly wasn't destroyed. In only a matter of seconds it had reassembled itself and begun to flood into Malekith, consuming his body as it had done with Lìa's.

"No..." Loki cried, his voice cracking in devastation. He turned to Lìa, now gripped by panic. "Lìa please tell me you can stand."

Lìa had lost all sense. "What is going on?!" she screamed hysterically, her voice breaking with the force of her words. "Suddenly you're acting all concerned and protective when only a minute ago you were brutally ripping out my heart and laying my darkest fears out for everyone to see!"

Loki looked a little unnerved by the severity of her response. "Lìa listen to me..."

"No! I have listened to you enough! Get off me..."

Grabbing her head, Loki restrained her and forced her to look in the direction of his brother. " _Look_ , Lìa. Look at his arm."

Lìa writhed furiously against him but stopped as soon as she laid eyes on Thor. Both of his arms were somehow intact, one raised for balance as the other launched him hammer at Malekith who was fleeing towards his ship, only for it to pass through thin air as the ship soared into the sky and vanished from sight.

"But...but how?" Lìa gasped, breathless from her struggles.

"It was an illusion, Lìa. That's all it was."

Jerking her head back, Lìa glared at Loki, her eyes glassy with angry tears. "Your words weren't illusions though. They most certainly were real."

Loki sighed deeply, his expression painfully remorseful. "Lìa you have to believe me when I say I meant none of it. Not a single word. It was more abhorrent than you can imagine saying those things to you and even more so to watch your response, but I had no choice. I thought that if I could make the Aether the strongest it could possibly be, imbued by the absolute rawness of your grief, then when Thor struck it with his lightning its energy would be too great, causing it to collapse in on itself. Clearly we were wrong and in truth we have probably only aided Malekith."

Lìa was lost in a chaos of emotion and she just stared at Loki blankly, rendered completely speechless as she tried to comprehend all her had told her. Loki, however, shot to his feet as Thor was launched through the air in front of them, quickly pursued by the Kursed while the several Dark Elves that had remained began advancing menacingly on them.

Loki grabbed Lìa by her waist and pulled her upright, shoving a dagger into her hand. Lìa looked it incredulously and then glared at Loki.

"You think it wise to give me a weapon when I truly could kill you right now?"

The tiniest of smirks graced Loki's lips. "I've no doubt that you could. But unless we deal with those incoming Dark Elves, they may do so before you have the chance."

With a huff of indignation, Lìa turned away from Loki and threw herself at the attacking Dark Elf before her, staggering him before driving her blade deep into his heart, wrenching it upwards and then upwards again for good measure. Her strength seemed to be almost back, the reason being she suddenly realised, Loki's flower and most likely Loki himself, both having caught her just before she could fall over the precipice into oblivion.

Glancing over her shoulder, Lìa caught sight of Loki and despite the fact she was still furious, she couldn't help but marvel at him. He wasn't just elegant with words but on the battlefield too, fighting the Dark Elves so gracefully it looked like he could have been dancing. He was a truly lethal and beautiful predator.

She watched, however, as one of the Dark Elves that had been advancing on Loki suddenly turned from him, instead focusing on Thor who was lay on the ground, growling in pain after being thrown through the air again by the Kursed. The beast was still a way off, for it had launched him incredibly far, but the Dark Elf reached for a grenade at its waist, activating it and then throwing it at Thor.

Lìa felt horror shred through her; she'd seen what those grenades could do. Without thinking, she threw herself towards Thor as he shakily began to pick himself from the ground and she smacked into him, throwing them both back down and out of the range of the grenade's blast radius. Shock passed across Thor's ruined face, quickly followed by intense gratitude.

"Thank you..." he began but before he could finish the little light there was disappeared as the Kursed loomed over them, its white eyes ravenous for death. Lìa went to scream but the sound had barely left her throat before one of the Dark Elf's blades burst through its chest, causing its eyes to bulge in agony. It staggered round, staring furiously at Loki who appeared from behind, only to grab him and impale him on the portion of the blade that protruded from its chest.

"No!" Lìa and Thor screamed simultaneously, their voices blending into a shattering duet of unimaginable horror. The Kursed threw Loki to the ground but it only had a few seconds to work out what the beeping at its waist was before the grenade Loki had activated exploded, sucking the Kursed into its implosion and wiping it from existence.

Lìa threw herself to her knees before Loki, staring at him in inexpressible grief as his trembling body turned greyer by the second. Thor did the same, his voice gruff with emotion.

"Brother you stay with me now." It was an order that all three of them knew Loki could not obey.

"Please..." Lìa sobbed despondently.

Loki looked like was barely holding on to life, laboured breaths shuddering through him. Thor took his hand into his own, gripping it tightly. "Father will know of your sacrifice here. You have my word."

Loki nodded weakly, before his darkening eyes fluttered over to Lìa. His final words caused her aching heart to falter.

"Kiss me...one last time."

Placing her shaking hands either side of his face, Lìa leant in and tenderly caressed his lips with her own, a strangled sob bursting from her as he went limp under her touch, his life finally leaving his broken body. Lìa sank down onto his chest, suddenly devoid of any reason to ever open her eyes again and tears poured from her eyes, seeping into Loki's already blood-stained clothes.

For a while there was nothing. Nothing but the blistering pain of her loss that consumed her more fiercely than the Aether had even in the peak of its rage. Fury spiked under her skin as Thor eventually broke the silence.

"Lìa we cannot stay here."

She raised her head to look at him in disgust. "Did he truly mean that little to you that a just few minutes of grief is sufficient for you?"

Thor's expression darkened. "He meant more to me than you will ever know. But the Convergence draws ever nearer and Malekith will unleash the Aether and condemn every one of the nine realms to eternal darkness again if we do not stop him."

Lìa couldn't care less. "Let him."

A frown passed over Thor's face. "Lìa you don't mean that. We're talking about every life in the entirety of the nine realms here."

Lìa sighed deeply; she knew he was right. "We have to get his body back to Asgard first."

"No, there isn't time. We must deal with Malekith first, then we can return for him."

Intense fury rocketed through Lìa and she stared at Thor, profoundly appalled. "You would leave him here? In this desolate Hel?!"

Thor turned away from her angrily. "We don't have a choice. And neither do you."

Lìa wanted to throw every vile insult she knew at him, condemn him with every curse but with a heavy heart she knew it wouldn't make any difference. With trembling fingers she gently stroked the chiselled lines of Loki's ashen face, trying to sear it all into her memory. Using every last ounce of resolve she had, she sat herself upright, folding Loki's arms over his chest and, in a moment of bittersweet inspiration, placing the golden flower from her hair in his hands.

"Look after it for me until I return," she whispered, grief threatening to completely overwhelm her as she rose to her feet. With one last painful glance, she turned and began to follow Thor, leaving Loki and her heart behind.


	10. Chapter 10

They walked for some time, a tense silence hanging heavy over the both of them. Lìa struggled to keep pace with Thor's huge strides and soon exhaustion pushed her frayed temper over the edge.

"Do you even know where we are going?" she grumbled hotly, breathing heavily as they raced over the barren wasteland of Svartalfheim. The planes were vast, almost too vast to traverse by foot but their sky ship had been destroyed during the fight with the Dark Elves and so they had no choice but to walk.

Thor's grip on his hammer tightened. "Do not question me, prisoner. Know your place."

Lìa turned to scowl at him. So _this_ was how it was going to be.

"I'm asking not just about now, because believe me it's very obvious that you don't have a clue where we are, but also where we go from here. If by some miracle we do get back to Asgard and you swing that hammer and fly us over to the Bifrost, where do we have Heimdall send us to?"

Thor's brow furrowed at her defiance and his pace became even quicker as he tore angrily across the dusty ground. "You're the one who should be telling me. Your consciousness merged with Malekith's when he was extracting the Aether, did it not? You could have delved into it and attempted to suss out his intentions but your silence on the matter tells me you wasted our only opportunity."

"I did no such thing," Lìa retorted fiercely. Their consciousnesses had indeed merged and amongst the pain she had seen the destruction of the nine realms, every light and life extinguished as the Aether consumed it all. But that wasn't anything they didn't know already. "I saw the utter devastation that he wishes to inflict. Your precious Midgard was the first to be obliterated, no less, although I think my own mind might have inspired that one."

Thor stopped walking abruptly and Lìa almost ran straight into him. "I don't think that was coincidence, I think that's exactly what he means to do." He put his hand to his head and sighed deeply. "Why is it always Midgard?"

A short, sharp laugh burst from Lìa. "I've been asking myself the same question." Her eyes flicked to a cave to their right and relief blossomed within her. Her aching feet were screaming for rest and although her strength was returning now that she didn't have some ethereal entity sapping it, she certainly wasn't fully recovered yet. She started towards the cave, much to Thor's indignation.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled, storming after her and grabbing one of her shoulders with a large hand to restrain her.

"To rest. I will never make it back even to Asgard at this pace. If you want to keep going, fine, but you'll have to carry me and something tells me you'd rather not do that."

Thor glowered at her for a few seconds but soon released his grip, letting Lìa turn round and stalk over to the cave. Settling herself down on a smooth rock within, Lìa closed her eyes, relishing in the instantaneous respite that flooded her as she took the weight off her feet.

Following quickly behind, Thor's deep voice rumbled beside her. "I can see why Loki took a liking to you. You're just as impossible as he is."

Lìa's eyes flew open as grief gripped her heart tightly. "Was," she corrected bitterly and anguish flew momentarily across Thor's heavily wounded face before he turned from Lìa and marched deeper into the cave.

Silence flooded back, their sorrow almost tangiable in the air. Lìa tried to breathe deeply, forcing the torrent of tears that threatened not just at her eyes but choked in her throat, causing her lip to tremble. Why, _why_ did this hurt so much? She had always known of Loki, seeing him around Asgard and inevitably hearing about his mischief that tested everyone's patience and usually broke it. And of course once she had started training in the palace she had begun to see him even more frequently. He had always seemed to be alone, probably preferring it that way, and she, being little more than an Asgardian citizen with a training sword in her hand, hadn't even considered the idea of talking to him. And now she had been closely, and rather _intimately_ , acquainted with him for little over a week and for some wretched reason she was grieving as if she had loved him for thousands of years.

Their relationship had been destined for failure from the start. It was toxic, a volatile, lethal concoction of his intelligence and ego with her resilience and passion. And by Valhalla had there been passion. Not just sexually but in the words that they had exchanged, both good and bad. The fervency with which they had fought had made her feel more alive than she had since, well since she had lost her mother. And the tenderness and complete vulnerability of the moment as he had knelt before her dying body and kissed her, desperately, hungrily, as if he needed her more than air, had totally captivated her. That moment had awoken something, deep within her battered soul and it was what was torturing her now.

She didn't love him, that was ridiculous, but the thought of never seeing his devilishly handsome and dangerous grin again as he mocked her or hearing his deep, velvety voice rumble in her ear as he tried to retaliate in a conflicted mixture of admiration and irritation at something audacious she had said was almost too much to bear. Loki had irrevocably shifted something, a piece of her had come away and he had replaced it with a glorious, burning piece of his own, only now for it to be gone and leave a gaping hole that she had no idea how to fix. She doubted she ever could.

The sound of Thor's booming voice pulled her from her misery and she glared coldly at him as he came rushing up to her, his expression urgent.

"Lìa I think I know how we can get to Midgard."

Lìa scowled at him incredulously. "We?"

"Don't start with that, I haven't the time or the patience," Thor threatened. "You are and will remain a prisoner of Asgard until we can return and my father can reassess your crimes."

"Is there much point? He seemed pretty adamant on the removal of my head. I'd wager he'll even volunteer to swing the axe."

Thor sighed deeply. "Part of me would gladly do it now but out of respect for my brother I will refrain. And besides, you have done Asgard a great service by saving my life before. My father will not be able to ignore that. It does not, however, excuse the rest of what you have done and what I fear you will do in the near future."

Lìa couldn't help but laugh and she smiled sweetly at him, although her eyes blazed with derision. "I'll be on my best behaviour, your Majesty. You have my word."

Thor's eyes narrowed at her mockery. "Your word does not fill me with comfort. I doubt I have even seen you at your worst so I imagine your best behaviour leaves little to be desired. Now, come with me. We are wasting time."

Lìa jumped down and began following him, her sincere smile morphing into a mischievous grin. "Oh you've no idea..." she taunted under her breath.

They walked deeper into the cave, Thor stopping as they came upon the reason for his urgency. A pile of strange looking shoes were in one corner of the cave, clearly not from this realm or from theirs. They were dirty and vulgar; definitely from Midgard.

"Why is there Midgardian waste here?" she scoffed.

Thor was looking intently at the walls of the cave, his huge hands tentatively pressing against the rock. "What do you know about the Convergence?"

Lìa shrugged. "The nine realms will align. Heimdall will get excited."

Thor threw a look in her direction, a smile threatening at his lips. "Indeed. But as that time draws nearer, the walls between the realms grow thin and it becomes possible to move between them without the aid of the Bifrost."

"And so you think these," Lìa gestured to the trainers scattered around them, "bizarre shoes have come through a portal from Midgard?"

Thor had returned to his probing of the rock. "I don't have the brilliant mind Jane does but I believe so. And if there is a way here then there has to be a way through to Earth."

A demeaning insult had just been bubbling on Lìa's lips when Thor gasped, his hand somehow sinking through the wall of the cave as if it was merely water. He turned to her, offering his other hand.

Lìa took it and sighed deeply. "Time to see what all the fuss is about then."

* * *

Midgard was exactly how she had expected it to be: underwhelming and disgusting. They had emerged in some derelict, metal building, every surface dirty and crumbling with decay. And of course, who had to be stood only metres away but the prized mortal herself. She was fiddling with a strange, beeping box but dropped it in shock and squealed as Thor and Lìa materialised before her.

"Thor?" she cried incredulously.

"Jane..." Thor breathed ardently, rushing forward and sweeping her into a strong embrace, crushing her lips with his own.

Lìa looked away in disgust; their sickly sweet reunion was just revolting.

As the kiss ended, Jane stared at Thor, still clearly in complete shock. "I never thought I'd see you again, not after..." She stopped abruptly, her eyes widening as she caught sight of Lìa behind Thor. "You..."

"Hello again, Jane." Lìa sneered, loving just how nervous the mortal now looked under the heat of her gaze. "I haven't had chance to thank you for your little gift. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but it had a rather unpleasant habit of trying to suck all the life from my body. I stopped counting after I nearly died a fifth time."

Thor threw Lìa a warning glare while Jane swallowed uneasily, although a spark of anger flashed in her eyes. She was going to try and retaliate. How _endearing_.

"I'd apologise but I don't see how it was my fault. You'd offered to show me the basics of using a sword, not how to floor and disarm me."

Lìa smiled smugly at Jane. Her accent was strange, rather like that of the ridiculous blonde man that Loki had transformed himself into as he had been mocking Thor.

 _Loki_.

The memory almost knocked the breath from her lungs and she fought to regain her composure as Jane looked at her questioningly.

"What's wrong?" she sneered, her grin returning. "You sound almost put out. You should at least be grateful that I saved your life."

Jane folded her arms crossly. "It had been two years since I had last seen Thor. _Two years_. And I finally get to see him again, in Asgard no less, and within a day it is snatched from me."

"Oh and you would rather have suffered a horrible death just to see your beloved for a few more days? You mortals really are pathetic," Lìa jeered.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand. Affection doesn't seem like something you're capable of."

Before she could consider whether it was a sensible idea, Lìa had launched herself at Jane in fury, forcing her up against the wall behind, her arm crushing her neck. "You little bitch..." she snarled.

Thor, who had been silently watching the women fight, the frown deepening on his face, reacted instinctively to Lìa's attack, grabbing both of her shoulders and wrenching her away from Jane. Lìa flew through the air, striking her head on the opposite wall and crumpling to the ground. Gingerly she picked herself up, wincing as she touched the cut on her forehead that had begun to bleed.

"Jane, are you alright?" Thor asked worriedly, his fingers touching the reddening marks on her neck.

"I'm fine," she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "Did you have to bring her?"

Thor sighed deeply. "I'm afraid so. Do you happen to have any rope with you?"

Jane looked confused for a moment but quickly understood his intentions. "I think so. Darcy's at the car; I'll text her."

Sure enough, a rope appeared a few minutes later along with the woman Lìa presumed was called Darcy.

"Who is that?" she asked warily as Thor began tying Lìa's hands tightly in front of her body as well as gagging her mouth with a dirty rag Darcy had also found in the back of their car.

"Someone you do not want to talk to. Trust me," Jane sighed, avoiding Lìa's hate-filled glare. She turned to Thor as he finished restraining Lìa and stood back up. "So why are you here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," he replied.

"My equipment has been going crazy for days and here is one of the points where it's picking up the strongest signals. Eric, now that we've finally found him, is convinced it's something called the Convergence, the alignment of the – "

"Nine realms, yes," Thor finished. "The Convergence is also the reason for my presence. Malekith, an ancient enemy of my grandfather, plans to use the Convergence and the Aether to bring back eternal night across the universe, starting his destruction on Earth. We must stop him. The only issue is I do not know where exactly he plans to begin."

Jane's eyes had widened as she took in what Thor was saying. "OK well, let's go back to my place. Eric is there and we can all try and figure this thing out."

They had all been about to leave when Lìa rolled her eyes and cleared her throat noisily. With her hands bound, it was more difficult for her to stand and just to make her point, she made the task look unnecessarily arduous. With a grunt of irritation, Thor stormed over to her and pulled her upright in one swift move while Jane glared at her.

"Are you sure she has to come with us?" Jane asked as Thor joined her, Lìa following closely behind.

Thor's deep voice sounded almost weary. "Believe me, if I had any choice she would be as far away from you as physically possible."

* * *

The journey to Jane's house was extremely hot and cramped. Lìa had been bundled into the back of a strange wheeled machine Jane had called a car and presently joined either side by Darcy and a tall man who, upon being told not to even look at Lìa, proceeded to look very nervous indeed, his unblinking eyes staring straight ahead as not to be sucked into her lethal gaze.

Mercifully, the journey was short and soon they were all entering a flat bursting at the seams with machinery and books, every surface covered in paper with something scrawled on it. Lìa had only just begun to look around when Thor grabbed her arm and forced her down onto a chair, dropping his hammer into her lap. She cried out as her legs took its incredible weight and she struggled in vain underneath it before quickly giving up and glaring at Thor with as much contempt as she could muster.

"In case you get any ideas," he said smugly before turning away and enthusiastically hugging an excitable looking man who bizarrely, wasn't wearing any trousers.

Lìa sighed resignedly as they quickly lost interest in her and launched into a full blown reunion; it was going to be a long day. To distract herself, she tried to imagine what Loki would do if he saw her in such a predicament as the one she found herself in. She wasn't sure whether he would be beside himself with laughter or furious at Thor for his misconduct. She quickly concluded, however, that he would laugh and ridicule her first, pausing only to break Thor's nose before returning to laugh at her some more.

She smiled at the thought. Thinking of him was agony but the idea of never thinking about him again was so much worse and so she almost welcomed the searing pain because with it came the soothing warmth of her memories. Returning her attention to the room, she noticed they had since all crowded round a table with the oddly clothed man at the centre. He was drawing lines on a map and rambling animatedly about the clues their ancestors had left them since the last Convergence. The lines he drew indeed converged and everyone suddenly sprang into action, preparing to leave at once.

Hammer removed, Lìa was forced into the back of Jane's car again and they all sped off, weaving through congested streets until they presumably reached the fabled destination. This place was a little more impressive than the other parts of Midgard she had seen, what with its large, open courtyard enclosed by white, regal-looking buildings, but it still wasn't even close to the splendour they had in Asgard. Once again, she barely had time to take in her surroundings before Thor roughly grabbed her and escorted her to a nearby pillar, forcing her down onto the ground and tying her tightly to it with yet another rope. Lìa had given up fighting at his point, not even bothering to meet his eyes the entire time he was knelt before her.

She drifted off into her own thoughts again as she grew bored of watching Jane and the others running around hammering poles into the ground. It all seemed very pointless. She was wrenched from her thoughts, however, as the very earth shook violently beneath her feet and the harsh sound of metal battling with rock ripped through the air. Twisting round as far as her restraints would allow, Lìa gasped in horror as she caught sight of the cause of the disruption.

Malekith's monstrous, black ship had lodged itself into the ground where the river met the courtyard and countless heavily armed Dark Elves were pouring from its door, spreading out into the surrounding streets. As they began running towards where Lìa was sat, panic shot through her and she writhed fiercely against her bonds. Considering the number of times she had resisted death in the past week she refused to die now at the hand of some masked freak, helpless and weaponless.

Or was she?

 _Loki's dagger_.

She frantically fumbled at the material of her dress at her bosom, still the green and gold one Loki had clothed her in many days ago, although it was grubby and ripped now. With everything that had occurred in the past few hours she had forgotten she had slipped the dagger between her breasts, since she had nowhere else to sheath it, and the metal had grown warm enough against her skin that she could not feel it. A sharp exhale of relief burst from her as her fingers closed around the dagger's intricate hilt and she gently extracted it, careful not to slice the entirety of her chest on its way out. The next bit was even trickier, however, as she had to try and cut the rope that was currently pressing both of her hands together. She sawed awkwardly at it, a huff of frustration escaping from her as her hand slipped yet another time, her eyes flicking to the torrent of Dark Elves who were getting closer by the second.

Mercifully the frayed rope eventually gave way and Lìa threw it from her wrists, the skin of which was now red and raw. She ripped the gag from her mouth just in time to snarl as she launched herself at an oncoming Dark Elf, first stabbing her dainty dagger into its knee and then slicing the width of its neck as it collapsed to the ground. She joined the battle almost gleefully, relishing in being able to vent some of her emotions in one of her favourite forms: outright brutal violence. She could have picked up any of the larger weapons that lay abandoned on the blood soaked ground but she kept her dagger. It allowed her strikes to be fast and besides, there was something comforting about using it, almost as if Loki was fighting beside her in all his lethal glory.

Casting her eyes over the chaos that had descended in the courtyard, she saw that Malekith had appeared and he was fighting Thor, the equal ferocity of the Aether and Thor's lightning making for a spectacular battle. Lìa couldn't admire it for long, however, as a scream sounded above her and her head snatched round to see Jane on a balcony above her, shrinking away from two Dark Elves that were closing in, swords brandished threateningly. Rolling her eyes, Lìa cursed fervently under her breath before sprinting up to the balcony and, without slowing down, she ran straight into one of the Dark Elves so it was impaled on her dagger, its slender blade sliding into its neck all the way to the hilt. Placing her foot on the Dark Elf's shoulder as it sank to the ground, she wrenched her dagger out and set about dealing with the second which was now advancing on her. This one put up more of a fight but Lìa was easily the better warrior and soon left it riddled with wounds in the weak spots of its armour. With a final flourish, she slit its throat and it staggered backwards, blood spurting dramatically into the air. Grabbing Jane's arm, Lìa began escorting her away only for Jane to scream again.

"It's not dead!" she shrieked and Lìa flew round to see the fatally wounded Dark Elf activate a grenade with the last of its dying strength and throw it at them. Adrenaline surged through Lìa and she dived into the stairwell to their right, dragging Jane with her.

Lìa had expected her landing to be hard, but not as hard or _cold_ as it was. Blearily opening her eyes, she gasped in shock as she took in another wasteland, this time formed entirely of ice. Jane looked similarly disturbed, her frantic breaths misting as they met the frozen air.

"How have we got here?" she gasped, shuddering from the drastic drop in temperature.

"It must be the Convergence...Thor said portals would form between the realms as the time drew closer." Lìa sighed deeply. "Why Jotunheim of all places?"

"Jotunheim..." Jane mused, her delicate eyebrows pulled into a frown. "Home of the Frost Giants, right? Loki's true ancestors?"

"Correct," Lìa growled, not approving of the certain direction their conversation was suddenly taking.

She shrugged, gazing around at the endless, blue ice that stretched as far the eye could see. "Hmm. Figures. I always wondered why Loki's heart was so cold."

Lìa's jaw immediately clenched and she looked to the grey sky, fury simmering under her skin. This woman had been totally ungrateful the first time she had saved her life and now had insulted the worst person possible minutes after Lìa had saved her life a second time. Switching her dagger into her left hand, she balled her right up into a fist. "You really shouldn't have said that," she snarled and she punched Jane's face with all her strength.

She attacked with such force, in fact, that it threw Jane backwards and Lìa fell with her, plunging them through another portal and back into Midgard. They landed heavily in the centre of the courtyard that was now littered with bodies and Malekith stood before them all, his arms raised and the angry Aether swirling above him as many portals opened and converged above him until they were aligned directly on top of one another. Malekith then blasted the Aether into them and a very profound darkness started spreading out from where he was stood.

Lìa scrambled to her feet and Jane quickly followed, turning to the side as Thor ran up to join them, heavily wounded and breathing deeply.

"We're too late," he panted, his voice grave, his brow furrowing as he took in the wound that was darkening on Jane's face.

"They should have worked but we couldn't get close enough," Jane cried, pulling one of her metal poles out of the ground and staring at it dejectedly.

Lìa stared at it for a moment. Amongst the elation of the battle, she had witnessed what these strange poles could do. In the blink of an eye, a flash would appear and then anything or anyone who was close enough to it would disappear. She was not sure where or how, but all it mattered was that they were moved. And moving Malekith away from the Aether was the only way he could be defeated.

Thor appeared to be having similar thoughts as his ruined face hardened with determination. "I think I might be able to get close enough."

Not to be outdone, Lìa sprinted off to the side, quickly returning with another of the poles in her grasp. "And me."

Thor's brow furrowed. "No, Lìa," he said firmly.

Lìa glared intensely at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "At least let me have the chance of dying a warrior's death."

After a moment's consideration, Thor reluctantly acquiesced, sighing deeply. "Fine, as you wish."

The closer she got to the raging tumult of the Aether, the more pain began to blister on her skin as ethereal red wisps licked at it, burning as if it were real flames. It felt odd for the Aether to be attacking her since it had spent so much time resident in her blood but it was fickle, loyal only to the host that could offer it the most sustenance. Crouching behind a large piece of debris, Lìa watched as Thor and Malekith taunted each other, Malekith boasting that it was too late to change anything. Thor disagreed, naturally, and launched the pole he held, letting it soar through the red haze. Malekith instinctively caught it and stared at it mockingly, clearly amused by Thor's pathetic efforts to subdue him.

"Jane, now!" Thor bellowed and whatever Jane did certainly worked. The little box on the pole beeped and in the second that followed, Malekith's entire arm was ripped off and transported somewhere unknown, much to his abject horror. Whilst he was distracted by the excruciating pain that probably now radiated through him, Lìa leapt up and let her own pole fly. It imbedded itself deep into Malekith's torso and his deranged white eyes met hers for just a moment before he dissolved into thin air.

Lìa's focused determination and had been enough to keep herself conscious despite being surrounded by the Aether but now the threat was gone. Black spots appeared in her vision and she staggered, sinking to her knees as exhausted gripped her. Her sight had blurred also but she managed to see Thor do much the same, collapsing to the ground. A moan of dread rasped in her throat as the Aether began to seep through her skin again. She couldn't cope...not again...

A deafening cracking sounded above her, the sound of metal screaming and splintering filling her ears. Groggily she opened her eyes to see the black ship that had been towering over her begin to crumble, lurching forward as it started to fall to the ground.

Bitter despair ripped through Lìa. So this was it. Rendered unable to move a muscle by the Aether, she was going to have to lie there and be buried under tonnes of Elven metal. She didn't even have the strength to scream and so instead so just shut her eyes, begging it would all be over before she could feel the pain of her death too much.

Something shifted underneath her and suddenly it didn't feel like she was lying on grass anymore but sand. The Aether's relentless pull at her strength was suddenly gone too and fuelled by her confusion, Lìa opened her eyes.

She certainly wasn't on Midgard anymore. Barren, sepia planes stretched out before her, the sun still eclipsed in the grimy sky. She was back in Svartalfheim. Lìa snapped out of her confusion however as a dark shadow passed over her, metal shrieking as it continued to buckle and sink to the ground. Her heart in her throat, Lìa scrambled backwards, tripping over herself in her desperation to get out from underneath Malekith's ship.

Malekith was not so lucky. Lay gasping in the sand, Lìa watched as the ship finally crashed into the ground entombing Malekith in splintered shards of metal. She lay there for a long while, still trying to calm her pounding heart long after the dust had settled. But, eventually it did and it permitted her coherent thoughts once more.

Someone had transported her here, most definitely by accident. She was free, technically, from being Thor's prisoner but the idea didn't fill her with much joy. Malekith had been rumoured to be the last Dark Elf alive, presuming all those that had gone to Midgard had been slaughtered, and now he was most definitely dead. There was no one here but her.

No one except...

Lìa shot to her feet. She had to find him. No matter how long it took. The thought of seeing his perfectly chiselled face again gave a surge of strength to her trembling muscles and she set off into the desert, pushing herself onward no matter how many hours passed.

But hours did pass and many more after that until Lìa's exhaustion had reduced her to her knees. A wail of anguish burst from her as she sank to the ground. She had seen nothing, not even a tiny speck on the horizon. Tears flowed freely down her dirtied cheeks and her matted copper hair hung around her face, beyond taming.

" _Loki_..." she screamed, the fierce wind that had picked up in the last few hours carrying her lament far into the distance.

Not that anyone would hear it.


	11. Chapter 11

Something pulled at Lìa's shoulder, once and then again, more urgently this time. She weakly lifted her head off the dusty ground, blinking blearily until the world shifted into focus and her vision suddenly filled with the golden armour of the man who was knelt beside her. Sitting up in shock, she looked around a little more, seeing at least ten Asgardian soldiers stood before her.

"How did you find me?" she asked hoarsely, her throat feeling like a bed of needles.

Pity flashed across the guard's face. "Odin has issued a warrant for your arrest across all the nine realms. When Heimdall heard your cries we came as soon as we could."

Lìa felt panic shoot through her. "No, I can't leave...not yet. I have to find his body, you have to help me."

The guard shook his head firmly. "We are to escort you back to Asgard immediately where you will await trial for your crimes. There can be no negotiations on the matter."

"No... _please_ ," Lìa begged, beginning to struggle as the guards grabbed her arms and lifted her from the ground. "I can't go, I won't! I have to see him...just once more, I beg of you!"

She began to scream and thrash hysterically as everyone ignored her, the guard who had first spoken frowning deeply at her distress before roaring to the sky, "Heimdall, quickly!"

The golden portal of the Bifrost appeared immediately, sucking them all in and by the time they touched down on Asgard, Lìa had exhausted her meagre reserves, her full throated screams weakening to no more than strangled sobs. She felt Heimdall's piercing gaze on her as she was marched past him as well as the hostile and often fearful stares of the crowds that had gathered along the streets leading to the palace. Many gasped as she passed and Lìa realised she probably looked ghastly. She refused to meet a single eye that was upon her however, instead staring vacantly at the ground, not even looking up as they entered the palace and began to descend into its depths.

As numb as she was to what was occurring around her, the guards' cruel choice of cell couldn't escape her attention. Of all the empty cells in the prison they had to pick the one she had been placed in originally, right next to the cell of her deceased lover. His cell was exactly in the state of destruction upon which he had left it, an agonising reminder of him and the grief that had shattered his already fragile soul. They placed her down onto the floor and she remained there, barely listening to the words the guard was saying to her as he activated the golden wall once more.

She just had to endure her pain a little longer until she was called for trial and then, with any luck, death would swiftly follow.

* * *

She didn't have to wait very long in fact. Only a few hours could have passed before she was roused and half carried to the lofty chamber in which Odin's throne sat. The AllFather himself was already occupying it and Lìa was forced to her knees before him.

Odin's authoritative voice rumbled through the chamber. "You may take your leave. I wish to speak to the prisoner alone." A tangible air of confusion and concern emanated from the guards but they knew better than to question their King and they quickly left, plunging the room into silence. A few tense moments passed before Odin spoke.

"You are to look at me when I speak to you, girl."

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Lìa raised her eyes to meet Odin's fierce stare. As always, his face betrayed very little of what was going through his mind.

"I expect you know why you are here?"

"This is a trial for my crimes, your Majesty, a pointless formality for my already inevitable execution." Her words were monotonous, almost robotic.

Odin blinked twice. "Even when faced with death you are still full of hatred and contempt. Have you no regard for you own life? Do you not wish to beg for it? After all, Thor has told me of your actions on both Svartalfheim and Midgard. You could say everyone in the nine realms, including myself, owe their lives to you."

Lìa couldn't help but laugh, the sound weak and cynical. "As flattering as that is, I have nothing to live for. The only true happiness I have known in nearly a thousand years has been ripped from me, just as I was starting to realise and depend on its beauty. And I know for a fact I will never find anything close to it again."

"There is always hope. Even when all seems lost, _my dear_."

Every muscle in Lìa's body suddenly tensed. What had Odin just said? More to the point, it hadn't even sounded like Odin's voice but...No. It was impossible. Wasn't it?

As if Odin could hear the thoughts raging inside her mind, he arched an eyebrow, almost looking amused at her reaction. Before Lìa could even begin to question his abnormal behaviour, Odin disappeared entirely.

A green light shimmered over his body, engulfing him and in his place suddenly sat Loki, Gungnir in hand and the hugest grin stretched across his porcelain face.

"Hello Lìa."

Lìa felt as if Malekith's ship had indeed crushed her. Loki was right in front of her, looking as glorious and alive as the first day she had set eyes on him. His perfect voice rang in her ears, mocking her still.

She tried desperately to form a coherent sentence but in the end she could only utter one word. "How?"

Loki looked very pleased with himself. "What did I warn you of the first night we spoke? Only a fool underestimates the power of my illusions."

Potent anger suddenly ripped through Lìa. "Why? Why make me think you were dead? My grief almost killed me! Hel, I wished for death!"

Somehow Loki's grin widened even further. "Yes, your sentiment has not escaped my attention. Although it is rather uncharacteristic of you I can't deny that I enjoyed it." He chuckled as Lìa glared furiously at him. "Ah, there's my girl. I know it was cruel but my plan would not have worked unless everyone truly believed I was dead, including you. Now, are you going to waste our reunion being furious with me or are you going to come here and welcome me back properly?"

Lìa did not need asking twice. She jumped to her feet and threw herself at Loki, landing in his lap and pressing every part of her body against him as fiercely as she could. She kissed him with a ferocity she had not known before and he retaliated just as splendidly, crushing her lips with his own. In the moments that she remembered to breathe, her nose filled with his incredible scent, more precious to her than the air that filled her lungs. Her fingers frantically lay waste to his immaculate hair and too soon Loki broke their kiss, staring at her intensely and breathing deeply.

"That's more like it," he purred, his deep voice rumbling in his chest.

Lìa finally smiled but a frown passed over her face as she looked at Gungnir, clasped tightly in Loki's right hand. "Odin?" she asked in confusion.

Loki scowled at her playfully. "You kiss me like that and then he is your first thought?"

Rolling her eyes, Lìa sighed impatiently. "Believe it or not I am still rather in the dark here."

Loki brushed his fingers through her copper curls, gazing at her fondly. "True. I will show you what has befallen Odin but not now. I wouldn't want to ruin what is quite simply the most perfect afternoon. For the record though, Odin isn't just disposed of but Thor too. Technically he disposed of himself, giving up the throne to be on Midgard with that mortal. It's all worked out rather nicely. Naturally," he added smugly.

Lìa stared at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. "I swear Loki if you're not careful you'll bring about Ragnarok with you schemes." Her jaw almost landed in her lap as Loki smirked at her mischievously. "You can't be serious? Loki you've spent countless years trying and the moment you finally get the throne you're already planning its destruction?"

Loki's emerald eyes were smouldering. "Ragnarok is coming my dear and we can neither slow nor stop it. If everything must burn we may as well watch the show from the best seat in the realm. Now, that reminds me. I have something of yours." Loki laid his palm flat and the little golden flower that she had left on his seemingly dead body materialised onto it.

Glaring at Loki, Lìa braced herself for his inevitably mockery. She was not disappointed.

"Leaving this in my hands was a particularly sweet touch. You need to watch yourself, Lìa. Keep behaving like that and I might start thinking you actually like me."

Lìa rolled her eyes dramatically. "Don't flatter yourself." A thrill of desire burst up her spine however as Loki winked at her.

"Keep lying to yourself, my dear. We both know the truth. Now, you thankfully don't have need for my little gift anymore but I hate to see things go to waste. Luckily, I have the perfect idea."

The flower glowed green for a second before it began to melt, the gold of its petals twisting into intricate vines that snaked and weaved around each other until they formed a delicate crown, embellished with dainty emeralds that glimmered in the torchlight that filled the chamber.

Loki stared at it, clearly pleased with his handiwork. His eyes flicked to Lìa's astonished face. "A crown for my Queen."

Lìa couldn't believe what he was proposing. "Loki are you sure? You've only known me little over a week."

Loki shrugged, undeterred. "It took Thor barely a weekend. Now do you want my gift or not?"

"Give me my crown," Lìa snarled as he began to pull it away from her and she snatched it from his palm, nestling its cool metal in her curls.

Reclining slightly, Loki admired the view before him. "I must say, my dear, you look _sensational_. I think I'm going to have to kiss you again."

Their lips met once more and Lìa couldn't control the desire that rocketed through her, unable to stop her lower body grinding against Loki beneath her. A feral growl ripped from his throat and he broke their kiss, leaning back just enough so he could stare into Lìa's eyes, his own gaze burning with passion.

"You wanton little vixen. You would have me here, upon my father's throne?"

Lìa's entire body trembled with anticipation; she knew what was coming when he looked at her like _that_. "But isn't it your throne now? And as King you can do whatever you want." Her voice was low, breathy and sensual.

Loki flashed her a devilish smile. "You make a very good point." In the blink of an eye, he vanished her clothes, leaving her entirely naked in his lap. "That's better," he sighed, his eyes flowing hungrily over her feminine form. "Now, helmet or no helmet?"

Unable to hide her aching want anymore, a little moan escaped from Lìa's lips. "Helmet," she breathed ardently.

Loki arched a dark eyebrow smugly. "I thought as much."

In a second, his horned helmet shimmered into existence atop his head and then he pounced. Lìa fought back for as long as she was able but Loki's advances were so spectacular that she was quickly rendered completely helpless under his touch. Soon her breathless cries echoed around the airy chamber as he thrust deeply within her again and again.

A moment of realisation drifted to her just before coherent thinking became entirely impossible.

If the realm was truly going to burn, let it. She wasn't going to notice anyway.

* * *

 **A/N: So that's it! A big thank you to everyone who has stuck with it till the end. What started as a little bit of self indulgence quickly consumed me and I have spent too many nights writing when I should have been sleeping, but I hope it was worth it! I would love to continue Loki and Lìa's adventures but since I'm a bit unsure on how to proceed I thought I'd ask you guys. I could wait (impatiently) until Thor: Ragnarok is released and see what I can do with that. Or if that seems too far away, I could do a bit of thinking in the meantime and see what I can come up with (I will confess I know very little about Ragnarok...). Conversely, you may want me to never write another word again. Either way, let me know.**

 **Huge thanks again,**

 **Much love,**

 **DeepAqua4**


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